Chapter Summaries

Hyuga Shinichi and Namikaze Minato continued training, but made little progress with the Flying Thunder God Formula or awakening a Kekkei Genkai. Shinichi returned to the Hyuga Clan compound and reunited with the young Kaede.

• Shinichi and Minato struggled to make progress combining chakra natures and studying the Flying Thunder God Formula.
• Shinichi practiced Taiji Sword on the rushing water while Minato watched from the riverbank.
• Shinichi reminded Minato that he had promised Hiashi and Hizashi he would visit the Hyuga Clan compound, and they agreed to take two days off.
• Shinichi arrived at the compound, where the guards and clan members warmly welcomed him.
• Kaede recognized Shinichi, ran to him, and giggled as he lifted her into his arms.

Shinichi returned to the Hyuga Clan, reunited with its children, and attended a meeting about training a new Eye-Nose-Ear Squad. He examined twin candidates and helped the clan decide how to train them.

• Shinichi hugged Kaede and the other children, then promised to cook for them later.
• Shinichi greeted the clan heads, elders, Hiashi, and Hizashi at the meeting.
• Nimitsu told Shinichi the clan was discussing a partnership with the Inuzuka and Aburame Clans and selecting candidates to train as the next Eye.
• Shinichi examined two-year-old twins with his Byakugan and judged both to have excellent physiques and potential in the Gentle Fist.
• Nimitsu and the elders agreed to assign one skilled elder to train each twin.

Over half a year, Hyuga Shinichi was promoted to Special Jonin, continued training Namikaze Minato, and helped the Eye-Nose-Ear Team become a respected force. The Third Hokage increasingly supported the three clans’ plan to train the team for important reconnaissance and combat missions.

• Hyuga Shinichi stayed after the clan meeting to teach the children Gentle Fist and was promoted to Special Jonin before the New Year.
• Namikaze Minato trained with Hyuga Shinichi while the Ino-Shika-Cho trio followed him, learned what was happening, and were reassured that he was safe.
• Hyuga Shinichi resumed missions with Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro, whose teamwork and success brought their Eye-Nose-Ear Team growing attention.
• Jiraiya took over Minato’s training when Hyuga Shinichi was unavailable, and Minato’s abilities improved under Jiraiya’s guidance.
• The Eye-Nose-Ear Team used its tracking, surveillance, and combat skills to complete difficult missions, including pursuing rogue ninja.
• The Third Hokage became more supportive of the three clans’ plan to develop the Eye-Nose-Ear Team for wartime reconnaissance and combat.

Uzumaki Mito sent Hyuga Shinichi and a team to the Land of Whirlpools to secretly bring back a girl with a unique constitution who was likely Uzumaki Kushina, the future Jinchūriki. Led by Jiraiya, the group reached the island and headed toward Uzushio Village, with Nawaki weakened by seasickness.

• Uzumaki Mito told Hyuga Shinichi she wanted to prepare a new Jinchūriki and asked him to bring a girl from the Land of Whirlpools back safely.
• Uzumaki Mito and Hyuga Shinichi asked Sarutobi Hiruzen to issue the mission, and Nawaki insisted on joining them.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen appointed Jiraiya as leader and Hyuga Shinichi as deputy, and ordered the team to keep the mission secret.
• Jiraiya, Hyuga Shinichi, Nawaki, Inuzuka Gai, Aburame Tomohiro, and the dog sailed from the Land of Fire to the Land of Whirlpools.
• Nawaki became seasick during the journey, and Jiraiya carried him as the group headed directly toward Uzushio Village.

Jiraiya and the Konoha delegation reached Uzushio Village, where the Village Chief welcomed them after reading Lady Uzumaki Mito’s letter. Hyuga Shinichi took the seasick Nawaki for treatment and learned from Uzumaki Michiko that repeated attacks on the Uzumaki Clan had left the village dangerously understaffed.

• Jiraiya showed the guards Lady Uzumaki Mito’s letter, and the Village Chief invited the Konoha delegation into Uzushio Village.
• Hyuga Shinichi found Nawaki unconscious from seasickness and asked the Village Chief for medical help.
• The Village Chief asked Uzumaki Michiko to guide Shinichi and Nawaki to treatment while the others went with him to rest.
• As Michiko led them through the village, Shinichi asked why so few people lived there.
• Michiko explained that unknown forces had repeatedly attacked the Uzumaki Clan to steal its Sealing Jutsu, killing and injuring many villagers.
• Shinichi considered how Konoha’s preparations for the coming Second Shinobi World War might have prevented it from aiding the Land of Whirlpools, whose destruction he suspected involved Kumogakure and Kirigakure.

Hyuga Shinichi brought the unconscious Nawaki to a clinic, where Uzumaki Michiko treated him and sent Shinichi to gather a missing herb. At the lakeshore, Shinichi was attacked by a talking Little Green Snake that used root-based techniques, which he mistook for Wood Style.

• Hyuga Shinichi brought Nawaki to the clinic, and Uzumaki Michiko explained that she was the doctor on duty.
• Uzumaki Michiko treated Nawaki and said he would soon wake, but she discovered the clinic had run out of an herb.
• Hyuga Shinichi offered to gather the herb so Uzumaki Michiko could stay with Nawaki, then headed to the lakeshore.
• Hyuga Shinichi dodged a wooden spike from the grass and struck the attacker with Wind Style: Vacuum Blast.
• The attacker revealed itself as a talking Little Green Snake and sent roots whipping toward Hyuga Shinichi.
• The Little Green Snake made roots spring up around Hyuga Shinichi in a dense net, while he wondered if it could use Wood Style.

At the clinic, Nawaki recovered under the care of Uzumaki Michiko and the two became friends. Meanwhile, Hyuga Shinichi offered Little Green Snake a summoning contract, and the snake asked him to help it become a dragon.

• Uzumaki Michiko helped Nawaki sit up, fed him porridge, and told him that Shinichi had gone to gather medicine.
• Nawaki and Michiko talked about Konoha and Uzushio Village and became good friends.
• Hyuga Shinichi defeated Little Green Snake and offered to release it if it became his summoning beast.
• Little Green Snake asked Hyuga Shinichi whether he could help it become a dragon.
• Hyuga Shinichi admitted he could not guarantee a snake could become a dragon, though he had a place in mind that might help.

Hyuga Shinichi persuaded the little green snake to become his summoning beast, named her Ao Qing, and completed their contract. On his way back to Uzushio Village with medicinal herbs for Uzumaki Michiko, he was stopped and questioned by a wary patrol before the village guards confirmed his identity.

• Hyuga Shinichi convinced Little Green Snake to leave the island with him and explore the world.
• Hyuga Shinichi named the snake Ao Qing, and they signed a summoning contract using their blood.
• Ao Qing hid inside Hyuga Shinichi's breastplate as he carried the medicinal herbs back toward Uzushio Village.
• A patrol of red-haired Uzumaki clan members stopped Hyuga Shinichi and questioned him about his identity and the herbs.
• The village guards verified that Hyuga Shinichi was a guest from Konoha, and the patrol leader apologized, explaining that Uzumaki Michiko was his daughter.

Hyuga Shinichi brought Uzumaki Gangwu back to the clinic, where Nawaki and Uzumaki Michiko’s close encounter led to a misunderstanding. After the truth was explained, Gangwu treated them, and Michiko prepared medicine for Nawaki, leaving Gangwu increasingly suspicious of their closeness.

• Hyuga Shinichi learned that Uzumaki Gangwu was Uzumaki Michiko’s father and accompanied him to the clinic.
• Uzumaki Michiko fell from a ladder, and Nawaki caught her, but they both toppled to the floor.
• Uzumaki Gangwu and Hyuga Shinichi walked in on Michiko and Nawaki in an intimate-looking position, and Hyuga Shinichi assumed they were romantically involved.
• Uzumaki Michiko explained the accident, clearing up the misunderstanding, while Uzumaki Gangwu treated her sprained ankle and Nawaki’s injuries.
• Uzumaki Michiko made medicinal broth for Nawaki, and Uzumaki Gangwu watched him with growing suspicion.

Hyuga Shinichi and his team met Uzumaki Kushina and persuaded her to travel to Konoha, then returned to the clinic to prepare for departure. After learning Uzushio Village had only about two hundred people left and faced repeated attacks, Shinichi offered to ask Uzumaki Mito to help the villagers relocate to Konoha, but the Village Chief hesitated.

• Inuzuka Gai told Hyuga Shinichi that Jiraiya wanted him to meet their mission target, and Shinichi left Nawaki in Uzumaki Michiko's care.
• Hyuga Shinichi and the others met Uzumaki Kushina, explained that Uzumaki Mito had sent them to bring her to Konoha, and Kushina agreed to go.
• Hyuga Shinichi used Sealing Jutsu to pack Kushina's belongings and accompanied her back to the clinic.
• The Village Chief warned Jiraiya that setting out near nightfall was dangerous, but Jiraiya said the group could detect threats in advance.
• Hyuga Shinichi learned that Uzushio Village had about two hundred people left and offered to ask Uzumaki Mito to persuade the Hokage to let them move to Konoha, but the Village Chief hesitated.

Hyuga Shinichi persuaded the Uzumaki Village Chief to consider moving the clan to Konoha and explained that their abilities could help solve Konoha’s shortage of medical ninja. As the group sailed away, outsiders learned of the planned move and hurried to report it, while Shinichi teased Nawaki about his feelings for someone.

• Uzumaki villagers urged the Village Chief to accept Hyuga Shinichi’s proposal, and the Chief agreed to consider moving the clan after Konoha confirmed it would take them in.
• Hyuga Shinichi promised to consult Konoha’s higher-ups, and the villagers went home to prepare for a possible move.
• Jiraiya asked how Shinichi would persuade Konoha, and Shinichi said the Uzumaki Clan’s strong life force, chakra reserves, and Sealing Jutsu made them suited to become medical ninja.
• Several strangers secretly investigated Uzushio Village, learned the Uzumaki Clan might move to Konoha, and hurried away to report the news.
• On the ship to Konoha, Hyuga Shinichi teased Nawaki for staring at the Land of Whirlpools and suggested he was thinking about someone.

Hyuga Shinichi urged Sarutobi Hiruzen to relocate the Uzumaki Clan from Uzushio Village to Konoha, arguing that an approaching war would leave them vulnerable and that their abilities could strengthen Konoha’s medical training. As Sarutobi Hiruzen began to accept the proposal, an Anbu rushed into the office with an urgent report.

• Jiraiya brought Uzumaki Kushina to Konoha, where Sarutobi Hiruzen welcomed her and Uzumaki Mito comforted her with an embrace.
• Jiraiya reported on the mission and described the many unknown forces attacking the Land of Whirlpools.
• Hyuga Shinichi warned Sarutobi Hiruzen that an approaching war could leave Uzushio Village exposed and urged him to move the Uzumaki Clan to Konoha.
• Hyuga Shinichi argued that the clan’s vitality and chakra reserves could help train medical ninja and establish Tsunade’s proposed medical institution.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared ready to approve the proposal, but an Anbu rushed in with a report.

Jiraiya led a Konoha vanguard toward the Land of Whirlpools after enemy forces attacked Uzushio Village. The Uzumaki Clan had escaped to a mountain shrine, where the Village Chief prepared to defend them and hoped Konoha would arrive in time.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Jiraiya, Hyuga Shinichi, Nawaki, Inuzuka Gai, and Aburame Tomohiro to join the coastal guards and head for the Land of Whirlpools.
• Uzumaki Mito took Uzumaki Kushina to the Senju Clan Compound while Hiruzen gathered Konoha's Jonin and High Command.
• Jiraiya left some ninja to guard the coast and led the rest toward the Land of Whirlpools as enemy observers reported Konoha's movements.
• The Uzumaki Clan hid in a mountain shrine after the Village Chief recognized the danger, while enemy forces searched the burning Uzushio Village.
• The Village Chief vowed to use the shrine's defenses and sacrifice himself if necessary to protect the clan.
• Jiraiya boarded a ship with the vanguard and set out to rescue the Uzumaki Clan, while two larger ships waited to carry them to safety.

Konoha’s support forces set out for Uzushio Village while Jiraiya’s vanguard fought through repeated attacks. Hyuga Shinichi discovered that the Uzumaki Clan was absent from the occupied village and learned they had been found in hiding, leaving him to search for a way to reach them before the attackers did.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen appointed Hatake Sakumo captain of a support mission, and Sakumo organized eleven Jonin and one hundred Chunin to travel toward the Land of Whirlpools.
• Jiraiya’s vanguard was attacked repeatedly, then used Hyuga Shinichi’s and the others’ abilities to break through a Hidden Mist ambush and continue toward Uzushio Village.
• Hyuga Shinichi scanned Uzushio Village and found it occupied by unidentified looters, with no members of the Uzumaki Clan in sight.
• Aburame Tomohiro reported that the attackers had found the Uzumaki Clan’s hiding place and were preparing to go there.
• Hyuga Shinichi decided not to return through the enemy forces to Jiraiya and spotted a secret tunnel beneath a house in the village.

Hyuga Shinichi discovered a hidden tunnel beneath the Village Chief's house and sent Nawaki through it to rally the Uzumaki Clan while the Eye-Nose-Ear Team harassed the enemy forces. At the summit, the Village Chief stayed behind and used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to hold off the attackers, continuing to reap their souls despite the jutsu's cost.

• Hyuga Shinichi found the tunnel beneath the Village Chief's house and devised a plan to draw enemy troops away from the Uzumaki Clan.
• Hyuga Shinichi sent Nawaki through the tunnel to warn the clan while he, Inuzuka Gai, and Aburame Tomohiro attacked the enemy's rear.
• Hyuga Shinichi's team repeatedly struck the four factions' command posts, forcing them to send troops back from the assault on the summit.
• Nawaki reached the shrine and explained the plan, and the Uzumaki Clan prepared to return through the tunnel as enemy troops neared the summit.
• The Village Chief stayed behind to delay the enemy, and Nawaki sealed the tunnel entrance before leaving.
• The Village Chief used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seize the eastern force leader's soul and continued attacking enemies reaching the summit.

Hyuga Shinichi, Inuzuka Gai, and Aburame Tomohiro fought their way out of an encirclement using a smoke-filled assault and Tomohiro’s insect trap. As they pressed their attack, a powerful enemy confronted Shinichi and declared that he would take his Byakugan.

• Hyuga Shinichi’s group was surrounded by enemy forces, so they prepared to break through while Aburame Tomohiro waited for the Earth Centipede to act.
• Hyuga Shinichi blocked the enemy’s combined ninjutsu with a Wind Wall, then used Great Breakthrough to drive black smoke through their ranks as the group attacked.
• With the Byakugan guiding their advance and the Kikaichū covering their rear, the group broke through the weak right flank and escaped the encirclement.
• Aburame Tomohiro commanded the Earth Centipede to smash its underground supports, unleashing Kikaichū that devoured many enemies in the collapsing ground.
• Hyuga Shinichi led the group back into the remaining enemy ranks, but a powerful attacker arrived, clashed with Shinichi, and vowed to take his Byakugan.

Hyuga Shinichi fought off the attackers while learning that the Uzumaki Clan had escaped, then used the chakra stored in his Yin Seal to create an opening for his group to break through. As Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro charged ahead, they turned back when they realized someone was missing.

• Hyuga Shinichi and Ao Qing wounded an ambusher who coveted his Byakugan, and Shinichi killed him with Wind Style: Vacuum Blast.
• Hyuga Shinichi fought through more attackers and regrouped with Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro as the Uzumaki Clan's safe evacuation became clear.
• Hyuga Shinichi warned his allies that his next technique would leave them dizzy, then released the chakra stored in his Yin Seal to knock out the enemies around them.
• Inuzuka Gai, Aburame Tomohiro, and the others charged through the opening, then turned back after noticing someone was missing.

Hyuga Shinichi collapsed after using a chakra-draining Byakugan technique, and Tsunade treated him as reinforcements arrived to defeat the enemy force. The Uzumaki Clan found their Village Chief dead at the shrine, his Death God Mask crumbling away when they touched it.

• Hyuga Shinichi collapsed with severe pain and bleeding, but Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro returned to protect him rather than retreat.
• Hatake Sakumo and Jiraiya arrived to block the enemies' attack, followed by Tsunade and Dan Katō.
• Tsunade treated Hyuga Shinichi and determined that he had fainted from chakra depletion and eye strain after using his special Byakugan technique.
• Konoha Ninja and members of the Uzumaki Clan joined the battle, routing the remaining enemies.
• The Uzumaki Clan found their Village Chief dead at the shrine with a Sealing Jutsu pattern on his abdomen, and the Death God Mask crumbled to dust when touched.

Hyuga Shinichi woke in the Senju Clan Compound after being rescued and learned that his friends were safe and the Uzumaki Clan had joined Konoha. Uzumaki Kushina met Namikaze Minato, rejected his offer of friendship, then turned back after remembering her parents’ advice.

• Hyuga Shinichi woke with his eyes bandaged, and Namikaze Minato told him that Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro were recovering safely.
• Namikaze Minato told Hyuga Shinichi that Sarutobi Hiruzen had announced the Uzumaki Clan’s entry into Konoha and that Uzumaki Mito was leading them.
• Uzumaki Kushina entered the room and urged Hyuga Shinichi to keep resting.
• Namikaze Minato introduced himself to Uzumaki Kushina and asked if he could be her friend, but she refused and left.
• Uzumaki Kushina remembered her parents’ advice about making trusted friends and turned back.

Minato left Shinichi’s room after Kushina introduced herself, and Shinichi resolved to protect Minato and Kushina from their tragic future. Tsunade, Nawaki, and Mito then visited Shinichi, who asked Tsunade what had happened to his eyes.

• Minato told Shinichi that Kushina had been meant to look after him and prepared to leave.
• Kushina stepped into the doorway, introduced herself to Minato as Uzumaki Kushina, and ran off; Minato happily promised to get along with her.
• Shinichi reflected on Minato and Kushina’s deaths and resolved to prevent their family from suffering the same fate.
• Nawaki rushed into Shinichi’s room, and Tsunade scolded him for being loud before Mito ordered them both to quiet down.
• Shinichi pretended to be in pain to reassure himself that Mito would not punish him, then told Nawaki he was feeling all right.
• Shinichi asked Tsunade about his eyes, and she explained that he had overused them and might have gone blind without timely treatment.