Recaps

After the battle at the Chunin Ninja Exams arena, Hiroki discovered that a Kirigakure ninja had infiltrated the event, while Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Lady Mito was dying. News of the Third Kazekage’s death and Hiroki’s power spread across the shinobi world, and Madara ordered his plans involving Nagato and Kirigakure to begin.

• Hiroki reviewed the abilities he had copied and flagged an unexplained Kirigakure ninja named Bing as a potential threat.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō confirmed that the Third Kazekage and Rasa were dead, then argued over whether Konoha should pursue the Land of Wind.
• An Anbu Ninja told Sarutobi that Lady Mito was near death after releasing the Nine-Tails’ chakra, and Sarutobi took Hiroki with him to see her.
• The Third Raikage ordered an investigation after hearing that Hiroki had defeated the examinees and killed Rasa.
• A Mist Ninja reported Hiroki’s power and his loss of jutsu memories to Genji in Kirigakure.
• Madara ordered White Zetsu to keep watching Hiroki, prepare Nagato for his eye transplant, and begin plans to control the Third Mizukage.

Minato told Nawaki and Uchiha Yoshihiro how Hiroki defeated the enemy examinees and killed Rasa after learning Scorch Release. In Konoha Hospital, Pakura woke up and discovered she could no longer use any of her jutsu, and a medical ninja identified her as a prisoner from Sunagakure.

• Minato recounted that the non-Konoha examinees collapsed, then Hiroki killed Rasa using Magnet Release and Scorch Release.
• Yoshihiro realized Hiroki had been far beyond him, while a Hyuga Branch Family boy decided Hiroki might be able to save his mother.
• Pakura woke in Konoha Hospital and remembered being knocked out during the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Pakura tried to use Scorch Release and other jutsu but found she could perform none of them.
• A Konoha medical ninja told Pakura her body was normal and called her a prisoner from Sunagakure.

As Uzumaki Mito transferred the Nine-Tails into Uzumaki Kushina, Hiroki was pulled into Kushina’s inner world and confronted the sealed beast. The Nine-Tails recognized Sawada Hiroki and attacked his Firewall as his system connected to it.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen brought Hiroki to Mito, where Kushina sought comfort from him as Mito’s condition worsened.
• Mito asked Sarutobi Hiruzen to take them underground, where Anbu and Konoha shinobi prepared the sealing chamber.
• Mito connected Kushina to herself with her Adamantine Sealing Chains and began transferring the Nine-Tails’ chakra.
• The transfer pulled Hiroki’s consciousness into a primeval forest, where he found the Nine-Tails bound by chains and rocks.
• The Nine-Tails challenged Hiroki and attacked his Firewall, while Hiroki’s system connected to it as Kurama.

As Mito’s seal transferred the Nine-Tails to Kushina, the fox attacked Hiroki with the accumulated malice in its chakra, but Hiroki’s mental interface let him discard those emotions as garbage. The Nine-Tails found itself inside Hiroki’s computer-like mental world, while Hiroki wondered if his computer had caught a virus.

• The Nine-Tails was dragged from Mito’s seal toward Kushina, the new jinchuriki, and noticed Hiroki inside the seal’s mental world.
• The Nine-Tails unleashed its malice at Hiroki, but an invisible barrier kept him from breaking down.
• Hiroki opened a box-like interface and discarded the negative emotions carried in the Nine-Tails’ chakra.
• The Nine-Tails felt cleansed and discovered it had appeared as a small, flat image in Hiroki’s desktop-like mental world.
• Hiroki noticed the moving Nine-Tails icon on his desktop and wondered how it had gotten past his Firewall.

Hiroki confronted Kurama in his mental world and agreed to let the fox stay in exchange for access to his power and cooperation with Kushina. As the Nine-Tails transfer ended, Mito died and Kushina became Kurama’s new host.

• Hiroki chased Kurama’s icon through his mental folders and found that the fox could access his ninjutsu files.
• Hiroki located Kurama.sys in Task Manager and threatened to erase the fox’s projection.
• Kurama pleaded to stay, offered to lend Hiroki power, and promised that his cooperation could help Kushina.
• Hiroki agreed to let Kurama stay, warning him not to touch his files.
• Mito stopped breathing as the sealing chains vanished, and the new seal stabilized on Kushina.
• Kurama praised Kushina’s choice of Hiroki, and the half-asleep girl agreed.

After the Nine-Tails transfer, Hiroki discovered he could draw limited chakra from Kurama and control what the chibi beast could see and hear. Meanwhile, Sunagakure’s Chiyo arrived in Konoha to negotiate peace, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen to set the terms.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen checked on Hiroki after the Nine-Tails transfer, while Kushina slept peacefully and he suspected Hiroki had helped stabilize the seal.
• Hiroki used Kurama’s desktop icon to draw a small amount of chakra and granted it access to his camera and speakers only when he chose.
• Hiroki and the others escorted Kushina and Lady Mito’s body back to the tower before Sarutobi Hiruzen returned to his office.
• Danzo urged Sarutobi Hiruzen to invade Sunagakure, but Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura argued that Konoha lacked the resources for war.
• Chiyo arrived with Sunagakure’s envoys and told Sarutobi Hiruzen that they had come for peace and would accept his terms.

While organizing his copied ninjutsu, Hiroki discovered that Kurama could instinctively use techniques by sensing their chakra instructions and considered how that ability might help others learn. At the Hyuga training ground, Itsuki endured Hiashi’s abuse and wondered whether Hiroki would help him challenge the Branch House’s treatment.

• Hiroki sorted his copied ninjutsu and noted that his chakra capacity had reached around six thousand and was still growing.
• Kurama entered a Great Fireball Technique file, sensed how its chakra worked, and produced a small flame.
• Hiroki realized Kurama might help people learn techniques by letting them feel how to use them, and imagined exploiting that ability through software he installed for others.
• Kurama warned Hiroki that this ability was innate and offered to organize the techniques for humans in exchange for Hiroki going outside for a walk.
• At the Hyuga training ground, Hiashi beat Itsuki while Branch House children watched, and Itsuki recalled how the Main House had mistreated his family after his father’s death.
• Itsuki spotted Hiroki through his Byakugan and wondered whether his classmate would help him with the clan’s abuse.

Hiroki accepted gifts and an apology from Uchiha Togashi for his son’s earlier rudeness. After the Uchiha left, Tatsushi, the Anbu assigned to Hiroki, reported that a young Hyuga was tracking him.

• Hiroki took Kurama out for a walk and considered ways to improve his jutsu.
• Uchiha Togashi and several Uchiha Police Force members apologized for Togashi’s son and offered Hiroki gifts and 100,000 ryō.
• Hiroki accepted the gifts, and Uchiha Togashi withdrew with the other Uchiha.
• Tatsushi introduced himself as Hiroki’s personal Anbu, assigned by the Third, and said Hiroki could summon him by clapping three times.
• Tatsushi told Hiroki that a young man from the Hyuga Clan was following him with his Byakugan.

Hiroki discovered that Hyuga Itsuki, an injured Branch Family child, had been following him to ask for help. After the Third told Hiroki to handle the matter himself as a member of Konoha’s High Command, Hiroki resolved to act rather than hesitate.

• Anbu Tatsushi brought Hyuga Itsuki to Hiroki after revealing the child had been tracking him with the Byakugan.
• Hiroki used his Chakra Communication Protocol to read Itsuki’s thoughts and learned that he was seeking help because of the way the Hyuga Clan treated him.
• Hiroki recognized Itsuki as the son of a Hyuga shinobi who had helped him defeat Hanzo and realized others saw him as a powerful figure.
• Hiroki asked Tatsushi to report the situation to the Third, but the Hokage told Hiroki to handle it himself.
• Hiroki ended his hesitation and resolved to take responsibility for helping Itsuki.

Sawada Hiroki brought Hyuga Itsuki to the Hyuga Main House to challenge the clan’s treatment of him and his parents. Hyuga Hitoshi ordered Hyuga Hiashi to deal with Itsuki, but Hiroki’s sudden connection to Hitoshi’s computer triggered a brain overload and left the hall silent.

• Hyuga Hitoshi and the Main House elders discussed the war, Hyuga Itsuki’s influence on the Branch House, and how to suppress it.
• A servant announced that Sawada Hiroki had arrived, startling the elders with rumors that he had defeated Rasa.
• Hiroki entered with bruised Hyuga Itsuki and demanded to know whether the clan had mistreated him and his parents.
• The elders rejected Hiroki’s intervention, and Hyuga Hitoshi ordered Hyuga Hiashi to deal with Itsuki.
• A Chakra Communication Protocol connection formed with Hyuga Hitoshi, triggering Brain Overload and silencing the meeting hall.

Hiroki uncovered the Hyuga Main House’s abuses and learned that it had long possessed a gentler alternative to the Caged Bird seal. After compensating Hyuga Itsuki for his father’s death, Hiroki decided to gather the Branch House and announce that he would break the seal.

• Hiroki incapacitated Hyuga Hitoshi and the elders, then searched their memories for the truth about Hyuga Itsuki’s family and the Caged Bird.
• Hiroki saw records of the Main House withholding compensation from Branch House families and using the Caged Bird to punish and control them.
• Hiroki copied the Hyuga techniques and the complete Caged Bird formulas, including methods to remove the seal and an unused alternative.
• Hiroki found the Main House vault, took money, and offered it to Hyuga Itsuki as compensation for his father’s sacrifice.
• Hyuga Itsuki tried to accept only the compensation he was owed, but Hiroki insisted he take all the money.
• Hiroki ordered Hyuga Itsuki to gather the Branch House and tell them someone would break the Caged Bird, shocking Hyuga Hiashi.

Hiroki removed the Caged Bird from the Hyuga Branch Family, triggering a bloody revolt against the Main House. Sarutobi Hiruzen defended Hiroki’s actions, while Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura went to confront him, prompting Hiruzen to warn Hiroki not to kill them.

• Hiroki told Hyuga Itsuki that someone would remove the Caged Bird, and Itsuki rushed to tell the Branch House members.
• Anbu Tatsushi reported to Sarutobi Hiruzen that Hiroki had removed the Caged Bird and left the Hyuga estate.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen used the Telescope Technique and saw Branch House members beat the Main House elders to death and leave Hyuga Hiashi severely injured.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered medical teams to the estate and decided that the Caged Bird’s removal would help the Hyuga Clan integrate into Konoha.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura accused Sarutobi Hiruzen of letting Hiroki upend the village’s order, but he defended Hiroki and refused to have him arrested.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura left to confront Hiroki, and Sarutobi Hiruzen sent Tatsushi to warn Hiroki to spare them.

Sawada Hiroki confronted Konoha elders Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura over the Hyuga Clan’s Caged Bird seal. When they attacked to capture him, Hiroki defended himself with his tentacle weapon and revealed he had copied Hanzo’s signature techniques, leaving Koharu vulnerable to his attack.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura confronted Sawada Hiroki and demanded he answer for interfering with the Hyuga Clan’s rules.
• Hiroki argued that Konoha had allowed the Hyuga Caged Bird seal to enslave clan members, but the elders dismissed his objections and tried to capture him.
• Koharu and Homura attacked Hiroki with Water Release and a barrage of weapons, but his tentacles shielded him and deflected their assault.
• Hiroki used a water technique that made his body break apart, then swept a tentacle across Koharu’s ankle.
• Homura recognized Hiroki’s move as Hanzo’s Water Body Flicker Technique combined with Iaijutsu, and Koharu realized she had been hit.

Sawada Hiroki forced Mitokado Homura to recognize that Konoha had no effective way to punish or control him, while Utatane Koharu remained incapacitated. As Homura withdrew, Ōnoki and the Third Raikage met in secret to discuss an assassination plan against Hiroki.

• Hiroki's technique left Utatane Koharu mentally unresponsive, and Mitokado Homura caught her before she fell.
• Hiroki challenged Homura to name a punishment Konoha could enforce, then argued that the village's threats and authority could not restrain him.
• Homura realized he had no effective way to punish Hiroki and ended the confrontation by carrying Koharu away.
• Ōnoki met the Third Raikage in a hidden chamber in Iwagakure and argued that Hiroki had to be killed to stop Konoha from unifying the Shinobi World.
• Ōnoki quietly explained his assassination scheme to the Third Raikage.

Pakura visited Sasori to learn whether Sawada Hiroki’s deprivation had also stopped him from using his techniques, and discovered that he had regained control of his Chakra Threads. Sasori offered a dangerous way to restore her Scorch Release just as Sunagakure’s representatives arrived to take her home.

• Pakura struggled to use ninjutsu or Scorch Release despite her chakra flowing normally, while newspapers reported that Sawada Hiroki had deprived Konoha’s and Iwagakure’s ninjas of their abilities.
• Pakura visited Sasori and asked whether he could still use his Puppet Technique.
• Sasori demonstrated his Chakra Threads and explained that he had relearned how to control them because puppetry did not depend on Hand Seals.
• Pakura feared she was useless without Scorch Release and prepared to leave.
• Sasori offered an idea that might restore Pakura’s Scorch Release but warned that it could kill her.
• A nurse told Pakura that negotiations with Sunagakure had ended and her people had arrived to take her home.

Pakura learned that Rasa and the Third Kazekage had died, and Sasori revealed that Sawada Hiroki had used Pakura’s stolen Scorch Release to kill Rasa. As Chiyo hurried them out of Konoha, Hyuga Clan members prepared to give Hiroki a pair of Byakugan as thanks for freeing the Branch Family.

• Chiyo met Pakura and Sasori outside the hospital and told Pakura that Rasa and the Third Kazekage were both dead.
• Sasori told Pakura that Sawada Hiroki had used her Scorch Release to kill Rasa and could use stolen ninjutsu.
• Chiyo hurried Pakura and Sasori through Konoha, where they noticed Hyuga Clan members watching the streets after Hiroki had killed the Main House head and freed the Branch Family.
• Hyuga Itsuki and his uncle discussed whether Hiroki would be punished, then headed to deliver him a pair of Byakugan as a gift from the Branch Family.

Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Danzo discussed Hiroki’s destruction of the Hyuga Main House and the Byakugan he had received. Hiroki decided to pursue a transplant, but a strange device message appeared when he touched the eyes.

• Jiraiya reacted with shock when Danzo reported that Hiroki had obtained a pair of Byakugan from the Hyuga Main House.
• Tsunade and Orochimaru questioned how Hiroki had defeated the Hyuga, and Danzo confirmed that Hiroki had defeated Rasa and might even be stronger than him.
• Tsunade wondered whether Hiroki would transplant the Byakugan into himself, while Hiroki weighed their benefits against the possibility of obtaining a Sharingan later.
• Hiroki decided to find a medical ninja and begin a Byakugan transplant, but touching the eyes triggered a message saying its device driver could not be found.

Hiroki investigated why his hand-connected Byakugan had failed to install its driver and traced the problem to its unusual camera functions. He found a driver and a mysterious trainer program in the Byakugan’s storage, leaving him stunned by the familiar file name.

• Hiroki examined Device Manager and saw the Byakugan listed as both a USB storage device and an unrecognized camera connected through his left palm.
• Hiroki checked the camera’s hardware details and found that its video, chakra input, meridian scanning, and X-ray functions exceeded the generic driver’s capabilities.
• Hiroki concluded that the Byakugan likely contained its own driver and opened its folder.
• Hiroki discovered a driver file and an executable named “Infinite Vision Range v(>^ω^<).01.03 Four-Item Trainer.exe.”

Hiroki installed a mysterious Byakugan driver disguised as a Fengling Yueying trainer and tested its four functions, discovering that each consumed chakra. He concluded that the Byakugan could improve his forced-unconsciousness strategy and began considering how to connect the eyes to Earth Grudge Fear’s blood vessels.

• Hiroki ignored the unknown-publisher warning and installed the Byakugan driver, whose interface credited Kaguya Otsutsuki and the Golden Finger Localization Group.
• Hiroki activated X-Ray Vision and Meridian Scanning, seeing through solid objects and viewing chakra pathways while each function consumed four chakra units per second.
• Hiroki combined X-Ray Vision with 360° Vision to create a blind-spot-free panorama, then tested Infinite Vision Range at up to 140x magnification.
• Hiroki calculated the chakra cost of using the functions and realized the Byakugan could help him force a connection with anyone who could see him.
• Hiroki took out Hands of Kakuzu and considered connecting the Byakugan’s blood vessels to Earth Grudge Fear to upgrade his weapon.

Hiroki gave Kushina a Byakugan Necklace so she could see beyond the Uzumaki Tower, where she spotted Ōnoki flying over Konoha. The chapter ended as Ōnoki began an attack with Dust Release.

• Kushina waited eagerly for Hiroki, then tried to scare him when he entered the tower.
• Hiroki showed Kushina his Byakugan Necklace and explained that a friend had given him the Byakugan.
• Hiroki gave Kushina a second necklace and guided her as she channeled chakra into it.
• Kushina used the Byakugan Necklace to see across Konoha and spotted Ōnoki flying above the village with something glowing.
• Kushina shouted a warning as Ōnoki called out Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.

Ōnoki attacked Konoha from the sky with Dust Release, but Sarutobi Hiruzen countered him with the Five Elements Great Barrage. After Ōnoki escaped, Hiruzen raised the village’s alert and summoned Hiroki to a jōnin meeting, while Hiroki feared a larger threat was coming.

• Ōnoki’s Dust Release pierced Konoha’s barrier, but Sarutobi Hiruzen countered it with the Five Elements Great Barrage.
• Ōnoki accused Konoha of provoking war, then attacked again and forced Hiruzen to counter with another barrage.
• Ōnoki fled after deciding not to prolong the fight, and Hiruzen ordered the village to its highest alert and recalled the front lines.
• Hiroki watched Ōnoki disappear and suspected the attack was a diversion for something more serious.
• Anbu Tatsushi delivered Hiruzen’s order for Hiroki to attend a jōnin meeting.

Hiroki joined an emergency jōnin meeting where Sarutobi Hiruzen announced that the Second Shinobi World War had begun, with four nations attacking Konoha across multiple fronts. The chapter ended with Hiruzen asking Hiroki which battlefield he was best suited to face.

• Anbu Tatsushi summoned Hiroki to the Hokage's office, and Hiroki told Kushina to stay safe in the tower.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen placed Hiroki at the front of the meeting, signaling his standing as the likely next Hokage.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen announced that the Third Raikage had attacked Konoha's forces in the Land of Rain while Ōnoki attacked Konoha, and that the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth had declared war.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen reported that Pakura had attacked Konoha's border and that Kirigakure had begun striking coastal areas.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen warned that Konoha might face a four-front war and asked Hiroki which battlefield suited him best.

Hiroki weighed Konoha’s three battlefronts and chose the Land of Water, where Kirigakure’s unknown forces offered both a strategic threat and opportunities to gather intelligence. The Third approved his assignment and ordered Konoha to prepare for battle.

• Hiroki assessed the Rain and Wind fronts as poor fits for him and judged the Water border the best place to use his abilities and learn about Kirigakure.
• Hiroki told the gathered jōnin that he chose the Land of Water battlefield, citing his limits against the Rain front’s Kage-level enemies, the known threat posed by Pakura, and Kirigakure’s unknown motives and strength.
• Hiroki explained that his bloodline ability and Byakugan would help him gather intelligence while staying safe on the Kirigakure front.
• The Third assigned Hiroki to Kirigakure, promised about two companies of reinforcements, and ordered Konoha to enter battle readiness.

Sawada Hiroki led an elite squad toward a coastal village, then entrusted reconnaissance to the more experienced Aburame Torune and Inuzuka San. When Kirigakure’s Mist Technique covered the forest, Hiroki used his Byakugan to spot the Seven Ninja Swordsmen approaching with a Jinchuriki, while Kurama refused to help him fight.

• Sawada Hiroki told Aburame Torune and Inuzuka San to rely on their expertise while he supported them.
• Inuzuka San assigned Torune to wide-area sensing and led a team to track scents and conduct close reconnaissance.
• A chakra-infused Mist Technique swept in from the sea and disrupted the squad’s senses.
• Hiroki activated his Byakugan and saw seven figures racing over the waves toward them.
• Hiroki identified the figures as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and spotted a Jinchuriki behind them.
• Kurama called the Jinchuriki an old friend and refused to help Hiroki in the fight.

Hiroki detected the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and an unidentified Jinchuriki approaching, and his squad prepared to sacrifice themselves so he could escape and report to Konoha. As the enemies entered the Byakugan’s range, Hiroki activated Brain Overload.

• Hiroki warned the squad that eight enemies were approaching, including the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and a Jinchuriki.
• Inuzuka San and the other shinobi realized they could not retreat without leaving the Land of Fire’s civilians exposed.
• Hiroki ordered the squad to send word to the Third and split up, saying he would try to kill the enemies.
• Aburame Torune and Inuzuka San refused to let Hiroki face the enemies alone and prepared to cover his retreat.
• Hiroki considered escaping underwater with the Water Body Flicker Technique but stayed as the enemies entered the Byakugan’s range.
• Hiroki activated Brain Overload.