Chapter Summaries

Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Orochimaru over his experiments and the Will of Fire, but their clash turned physical when Orochimaru attacked and Kakashi intervened. Orochimaru escaped through a hidden passage after summoning Rashomon, leaving Hiruzen and the others to pursue him.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi and five Anbu, including Kakashi, broke into Orochimaru's room, where Orochimaru accused Hiruzen of hypocrisy and distorting the Will of Fire.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Enma, and Orochimaru attacked him with Hidden Shadow Many Snake Hands.
• Kakashi cut down the snakes, challenged Orochimaru, and struck him with Thunder Breathing attacks, but Orochimaru hardened his body and kicked Kakashi into a shelf of glass jars.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Enma charged Orochimaru, who summoned Rashomon to block them and escape.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, the four Anbu, and Kakashi found a downward passage Orochimaru had entered and began pursuing him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi failed to capture Orochimaru, who escaped from Konoha and contacted Chiyu on his way to the Land of Rice Fields. Chiyu reflected on his plans for training Neji and Naruto, leaving Konoha, and obtaining Uchiha Fugaku’s Mangekyō Sharingan.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi pursued Orochimaru through a trapped underground passage, but Kakashi and the Anbu had to clear rubble and fight through a flood of snakes.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi followed false tracks to a lake, learned the sensor team had found no sign of Orochimaru, and ordered the pursuit to end.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura that Orochimaru had escaped, and they agreed to issue an S-rank rogue ninja notice.
• Utatane Koharu raised the question of Chiyu, but Hiruzen Sarutobi urged caution and postponed dealing with him.
• Chiyu contacted Orochimaru through his ring, learned he was heading to the Land of Rice Fields, and told him the ring could connect him with the other members.
• Chiyu considered training Neji and Naruto, leaving Konoha after the Uchiha Clan’s extermination, and acquiring Uchiha Fugaku’s Mangekyō Sharingan.

Sōshi Uzumaki began training under Kushina Uzumaki while Hizashi Hyuga arranged for Hyuga Neji to become Chiyu’s disciple after the Caged Bird Seal was placed on him. Neji headed to Chiyu’s home, and Hyuga Hiashi confronted Hizashi, warning that the decision could make the Hyuga Clan a target of the Third Hokage.

• Sōshi Uzumaki began training with Kushina Uzumaki supervising him, and his progress was remarkably smooth despite her difficult teaching methods.
• The Hyuga Clan elders placed the Caged Bird Seal on Hyuga Neji, leaving him unconscious, while Hizashi Hyuga watched helplessly.
• After Neji woke, Hizashi told him to meet Chiyu and become his disciple, hoping he could choose a path different from his father’s.
• Hizashi gave Neji Chiyu’s address, and Neji left the Hyuga compound alone to find him.
• Hyuga Hiashi confronted Hizashi and warned that Neji’s connection to Chiyu could draw the Third Hokage’s suspicion onto the Hyuga Clan.

Hyuga Hiashi used the Caged Bird Seal against Hizashi Hyuga after they fought over Hyuga Neji becoming Chiyu’s disciple. Chiyu learned Neji had also been confined and went to the Hyuga Clan Compound the next morning to take him for training.

• Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga argued over Neji apprenticing himself to Chiyu, and Hiashi activated the Caged Bird Seal to punish Hizashi.
• Hyuga Neji returned home, saw his father in pain, and confronted Hyuga Hiashi, who then forbade Neji from leaving the compound.
• Hizashi told Neji that he and Hiashi had once been brothers, and Neji grew angry over how Hiashi treated his father.
• Chiyu used his snakes to observe the compound, realized Hiashi was punishing Hizashi, and told Neji to return home before promising to collect him the next day.
• Chiyu told Kushina Uzumaki that he would train Neji and Cang Nagi together, then left for the Hyuga Clan Compound early the next morning.

Chiyu arrived at the Hyuga Clan Compound to take Neji as his disciple, but Hyuga Hiashi tried to stop him. After Hiashi refused to let Neji leave, Chiyu entered the compound to find him himself.

• Chiyu reached the compound and asked the gate guards to tell Hizashi and Neji he had come for Neji.
• A Hyuga ninja reported Chiyu’s arrival to Hizashi, who told Neji they would go meet his teacher.
• Hizashi led Neji toward the entrance, but Hyuga Hiashi intercepted them and ordered guards to surround them.
• Hyuga Hiashi refused Chiyu’s request to take Neji, claiming authority as clan head and uncle.
• Chiyu rejected Hiashi’s refusal and stepped into the compound to find Neji himself.

Chiyu forced his way into the Hyuga Clan Compound to retrieve Hyuga Neji, threatening Hyuga Hiashi and the clan’s ninja until they brought Neji and Hizashi Hyuga to him. He left with Neji as his disciple and warned the Hyuga clan not to obstruct him again.

• Hyuga Hiashi blocked Chiyu from entering the compound and insisted that Neji would never become his master’s disciple.
• After Hiashi activated his Byakugan, Chiyu attacked him, revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan, and threatened to kill anyone who stopped him.
• Hiashi relented and sent for Neji and Hizashi Hyuga, who arrived within two minutes.
• Neji told Chiyu that someone had prevented him and his father from coming to see him, and Hizashi released Neji to go to his teacher.
• Chiyu took Neji with him, told him to come alone for training starting the next day, and warned that he would punish Neji for being too weak to overcome anyone who blocked him.

Chiyu took Hyuga Neji away from the Hyuga Clan Compound, openly defying Hyuga Hiashi and inspiring Neji to seek strength so he could protect his father. Hiashi then sought Hiruzen Sarutobi to distance the clan from Chiyu, unaware that Hiruzen already knew what had happened and had been waiting to see how Hiashi would respond.

• Chiyu secured Hyuga Hiashi's permission to take Neji for training, then mocked the Hyuga Clan and left with him.
• Neji admired Chiyu's defiance and vowed to become strong enough to protect Hizashi Hyuga.
• Hiashi refrained from punishing Hizashi because Chiyu was backing him, while Hizashi returned to his room.
• Hyuga elders urged Hiashi to tell Hiruzen Sarutobi that the clan opposed Chiyu and would expel Hizashi and Neji if necessary.
• Hiashi went to the Hokage Office and claimed Chiyu had attacked the clan and forcibly taken Neji, but Hiruzen already knew the events from Anbu reports.

Hiashi Hyuga reported Chiyu’s break-in and Neji’s departure to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who told him not to punish Hizashi or Neji and to let Neji train under Chiyu. Hiashi left believing Hiruzen intended to use Neji’s strength for Konoha while keeping him controlled by the Caged Bird Seal, and he worried Hiruzen already knew the Hyuga Clan’s every move.

• Hiashi Hyuga truthfully told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Chiyu had taken Hyuga Neji and offered to expel Neji and Hizashi Hyuga and destroy their Byakugan with the Caged Bird Seal.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected the proposed punishment and said Neji should remain Chiyu’s disciple because Chiyu could make him a powerful ninja for Konoha.
• Hiashi Hyuga realized Hiruzen intended to benefit from Chiyu’s training while Neji’s Caged Bird Seal kept him under the Hyuga Clan’s control.
• Hiashi Hyuga agreed not to punish Hizashi or interfere with Neji’s training, then left the Hokage Office.
• Outside, Hiashi Hyuga worried that Hiruzen had known the full story before he came and could already be monitoring the Hyuga Clan closely.

Chiyu asked Sōshi Uzumaki and Hyuga Neji why they wanted to train, then explained the Caged Bird Seal’s true effects and urged Neji not to surrender to despair. Neji realized Chiyu could remove his seal, while Chiyu explained that Hizashi wanted Neji to have a choice but refused the same offer for himself.

• Chiyu asked Sōshi Uzumaki and Hyuga Neji about their dreams, and Sōshi said he wanted endless tempura while Neji wanted strength to protect himself and his father.
• Chiyu told Neji that the Caged Bird Seal could control and destroy Branch Family members’ brains, suppress the Byakugan, and destroy the eyes if its bearer died or had them removed.
• Neji despaired at learning the seal’s effects, but Chiyu rebuked him and urged him to think about why Hizashi had sent him to become Chiyu’s disciple.
• Neji concluded that Chiyu could remove the Caged Bird Seal, and Chiyu confirmed that he could.
• Chiyu told Neji that Hizashi wanted him to choose his own path but had refused Chiyu’s offer to remove Hizashi’s own seal because of his loyalty and emotional ties to the clan.

Chiyu explained Hizashi’s devotion to the Hyuga Clan to Neji, then arranged training plans for Neji and Sōshi. After demonstrating Water Breathing, Chiyu left Neji eager to learn the sword style.

• Chiyu told Neji that Hizashi had refused to remove his Caged Bird Seal because he hoped to change Neji’s future, and Neji vowed to grow strong enough to change his father’s mind.
• Chiyu learned that Sōshi had made no progress with sealing jutsu, so he planned to teach him the Three-Body Technique, taijutsu fundamentals, and basic ninjutsu first.
• Chiyu told Neji he would teach him Hyuga taijutsu training methods and a nintaijutsu suited to him instead of Thunder Breathing.
• Chiyu used the system to perform every Water Breathing sword form, demonstrating its power by cutting trees and creating a pond.
• Neji watched the demonstration and eagerly agreed to learn Water Breathing.

Chiyu demonstrated Water Breathing to Hyuga Neji, then used a sealing technique to remove Neji’s Caged Bird Seal. The seal’s removal awakened Neji’s Byakugan at only three years old.

• Chiyu demonstrated Water Breathing: Full Sword Forms, and Neji accurately described the style’s quiet strength and sudden power.
• Chiyu explained that Neji needed to master Breathing before learning the sword forms and revealed that Eleventh Form: Dead Calm nullified attacks within its range.
• Chiyu exchanged Witness Points for the method to undo the Caged Bird Seal and Gentle Fist taijutsu.
• Chiyu performed the Cage Breaking Seal on Neji, causing him intense pain as the Caged Bird Seal was undone.
• Neji’s pain subsided, and he awakened the Byakugan at three years old.

Chiyu removed Hyuga Neji’s Caged Bird Seal and began training Neji and Sōshi Uzumaki, while warning Neji to keep the secret. Two months later, Naruto Uzumaki secretly watched their training, prompting Chiyu to decide he needed to speak with him because Hiruzen Sarutobi’s surveillance was disrupting the lessons.

• Chiyu removed Hyuga Neji’s Caged Bird Seal, warned him to hide the secret, and gave him a scroll containing the Gentle Fist.
• Chiyu started training Hyuga Neji and Sōshi Uzumaki, and Neji returned home wearing a restrictive face covering as part of his preparation for Breathing Style training.
• Hyuga Neji told Hizashi Hyuga that his seal had been removed, and he promised his father he would become an outstanding ninja and change his mind.
• Over the next two months, Hyuga Neji and Sōshi Uzumaki followed Chiyu’s training plans as Naruto Uzumaki secretly watched them.
• Chiyu explained that Hiruzen Sarutobi monitored his interactions with Naruto Uzumaki and that he made the students practice basics during those times to conceal Neji’s Gentle Fist training.
• Chiyu decided he needed to talk with Naruto Uzumaki because the surveillance was disrupting the students’ training.

Naruto Uzumaki asked Chiyu to teach him to train so he could stop being bullied and make friends, but Chiyu told him to seek Hiruzen Sarutobi’s permission. Hiruzen refused, telling Naruto to find a purpose for training in the Will of Fire, leaving Naruto unsure what to think.

• After sending Hyuga Neji and Cang Nagi away, Chiyu found Naruto Uzumaki hiding in the grass and walked him toward home.
• Naruto asked Chiyu to teach him to train so he could become stronger and stop being bullied, and Chiyu said he needed Hiruzen Sarutobi’s permission.
• Naruto asked whether he was related to Cang Nagi and Kushina Uzumaki, but Chiyu said he did not know and advised Naruto to think for himself rather than blindly trust others.
• At home, Naruto asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to let him train with Chiyu, explaining that he wanted to stop being bullied and hurt by people’s looks.
• Hiruzen refused, telling Naruto that training needed a different purpose and that he should seek the answer in the Will of Fire.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to let Naruto Uzumaki train with Chiyu, Naruto questioned why he had to tolerate the villagers who bullied him and began doubting Hiruzen’s intentions. Meanwhile, Chiyu continued training Hyuga Neji and Sōshi Uzumaki until news arrived that Kumogakure had sent envoys to form an alliance with Konoha.

• Naruto Uzumaki asked Hiruzen Sarutobi why the villagers hated him, but Hiruzen told him he had done nothing wrong and should learn tolerance without explaining why.
• Naruto thought through Hiruzen’s words and Chiyu’s advice, concluded the villagers were at fault, and began to suspect Hiruzen was also bullying him.
• Naruto stopped secretly watching Chiyu train Hyuga Neji and Sōshi Uzumaki.
• Hyuga Neji mastered the Breathing Style and began learning the Water Breathing Sword Style while continuing to develop his Gentle Fist.
• Sōshi Uzumaki rapidly learned basic techniques and mastered the B-rank Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique, though Chiyu kept him focused on building his foundation.
• Chiyu received news that Kumogakure had sent ninja envoys to Konoha to seek an alliance.

Chiyu warned Hyuga Neji that Kumogakure’s planned alliance visit might conceal a plot to steal the Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan. He urged Neji to quickly change Hizashi Hyuga’s rigid principles, leaving Neji aware that his father and the Branch Family could be in danger.

• Chiyu heard that Kumogakure would send ninja to Konoha to form an alliance and suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi had publicized the news to raise morale.
• Chiyu asked Hyuga Neji whether he had managed to change Hizashi Hyuga’s mind, and Neji said his father remained unmoved.
• Chiyu warned Neji that Kumogakure’s alliance offer was suspicious given its history of attacking Konoha and its lack of need for supplies.
• Chiyu explained that Kumogakure had once abducted Kushina for her special chakra, prompting Neji to suspect that the village now wanted the Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan.
• Chiyu told Neji that Kumogakure could target the Main Family and endanger the Branch Family, urging him to change Hizashi’s mind without delay.

Chiyu warned Hyuga Neji that Kumogakure might target the Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan, but Neji could not persuade Hizashi Hyuga to reconsider his loyalty. After a Cloud Ninja tried to abduct Hinata Hyuga and was killed by Hyuga Hiashi, Raikage A denied responsibility and demanded Hiashi be handed over, threatening to attack Konoha.

• Chiyu gave Hyuga Neji time off to persuade Hizashi Hyuga to protect himself from a possible Kumogakure plot.
• Hyuga Neji told Hizashi Hyuga about Chiyu’s warning, but Hizashi refused to change his mind.
• Four days later, Hiruzen Sarutobi welcomed the Kumogakure delegation while its leader secretly entered the Hyuga Clan Compound to abduct Hinata Hyuga.
• Hyuga Hiashi encountered the Cloud Ninja leader carrying Hinata, killed him, and reported the incident to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi detained the Cloud Ninja and demanded an explanation from Raikage A.
• Raikage A denied the plot, accused Konoha of killing a Kumogakure ninja, and threatened war unless Hyuga Hiashi was handed over.

Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to Kumogakure’s demand to prevent war, and Konoha’s advisers arranged to hand over Hizashi Hyuga in Hiashi Hyuga’s place. Hizashi accepted the sacrifice despite Hyuga Neji’s protest, leaving Neji unconscious and the clan elders to proceed with their plan.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that Kumogakure had mobilized and sent ninja into the Land of the Moon, then agreed to Raikage A’s demand to avert war.
• Utatane Koharu proposed substituting Hizashi Hyuga for Hiashi Hyuga, and Mitokado Homura agreed to present the plan to the Hyuga Clan.
• The Hyuga elders agreed to hand over Hizashi Hyuga, while one instructed Hiashi Hyuga to pretend he knew nothing about the arrangement.
• The Hyuga elders urged Hizashi Hyuga to take Hiashi’s place, and Hizashi realized Chiyu had predicted the events correctly.
• Hyuga Neji burst in and protested the elders’ plan, but Hizashi agreed, knocked Neji unconscious, and told the elders to leave.

Hizashi Hyuga explained that he would die in Hyuga Hiashi’s place to protect the Branch Family, whose members were bound by loyalty to the Hyuga Clan. He made Neji promise to live freely under Chiyu’s care, while Hiruzen Sarutobi headed to the Hyuga Compound after hearing of Hizashi’s decision.

• Neji woke and begged Hizashi not to sacrifice himself, but Hizashi insisted his choice would not change.
• Chiyu offered to remove Hizashi’s Caged Bird Seal and help him escape with Neji, but Hizashi explained that abandoning the Branch Family would worsen their situation.
• Hizashi said most Branch Family members would refuse to leave because they saw themselves as Hyuga, and he feared Neji would inherit that burden.
• Hizashi asked Neji to grow strong and live freely, and Neji tearfully promised to do so.
• Hizashi asked Chiyu to care for Neji, and Chiyu promised to take him in the next day.
• After learning Hizashi had agreed to die in Hyuga Hiashi’s place, Hiruzen Sarutobi went to the Hyuga Compound.

Hizashi Hyuga told Hyuga Neji why he had chosen to die in Hyuga Hiashi’s place, then joined the Hyuga Clan’s staged explanation before Hiruzen Sarutobi. Before the sacrifice proceeded, Hizashi reminded Hyuga Hiashi of his broken childhood promise and asked him to treat the Branch Family as family.

• Hizashi Hyuga refused Hyuga Neji’s plea to escape, explaining that he felt bound to the Branch Family and wanted to die as a member of the Hyuga Clan.
• Hyuga Neji promised Hizashi Hyuga that he would live well, follow his own heart, and grow strong; Hizashi then left to meet the Third Hokage.
• At the dojo, the Hyuga elders claimed that Hizashi Hyuga would be handed over in Hyuga Hiashi’s place to protect the Byakugan and spare Konoha from war.
• Hizashi Hyuga punched Hyuga Hiashi and reminded him that he had broken their childhood promise to change the fate of the Main and Branch Families.
• Hizashi Hyuga asked Hyuga Hiashi to treat the Branch Family clansmen as family rather than tools of the Main Family.

Hizashi Hyuga chose to die in Hiashi’s place, calling his sacrifice a way to take control of his own fate, and Neji rejected the Main Family after his father’s death. A week later, Konoha and Kumogakure renewed their alliance, while Chiyu took Neji away from the Hyuga compound.

• Hizashi Hyuga told Hiashi that he chose to die for his brother and family, then struck his own heart with Gentle Fist and collapsed.
• Neji mourned Hizashi, told his father he was free, and watched him die with a smile.
• Neji rebuked the Hyuga elders and Hiashi, took Hizashi’s forehead protector, and left alone.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi thanked the Hyuga Clan, and the elders pledged allegiance to him as Hizashi’s body was sent to the Anbu.
• Chiyu met Neji outside the compound the next morning and took him home.
• Raikage A discovered Hizashi’s Byakugan had been destroyed, but accepted the situation as Konoha and Kumogakure renewed their alliance.