Chapter Summaries

Hinata faced Kimimaro after Tayuya and Sajin & Suigetsu chose Shikamaru Nara and Kiba Inuzuka as their opponents. As the fight began, Kimimaro revealed his Shikotsumyaku and drew a bone sword, claiming that Hinata’s taijutsu was at a disadvantage.

• Tayuya challenged Shikamaru Nara, while Sajin & Suigetsu challenged Kiba Inuzuka, leaving Kimimaro to face Hinata.
• Hinata silently welcomed being paired with Kimimaro and assumed a Gentle Fist stance.
• Kimimaro introduced himself and identified Hinata as a member of the Hyuga Clan.
• Kimimaro drew a bone from his palm and told Hinata that his Kekkei Genkai countered taijutsu specialists.

Hinata faced Kimimaro without using the Tenseigan, eager to test her strength against a formidable opponent. Their first exchange revealed her abilities, and Kimimaro recognized that he had underestimated her.

• Hinata decided to stop Kimimaro's talking and prepared to fight him seriously.
• Hinata chose not to use the Tenseigan because it would overwhelm Kimimaro, reinforcements might arrive, and others were watching.
• Hinata opened the battle with an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.
• Kimimaro sensed Hinata's attack and cut through it with his bone sword.
• Kimimaro recognized Hinata Hyuga as a stronger opponent than he had expected.

Hinata fought Kimimaro and used the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, but his moving acupoints thwarted the Gentle Fist Style. The fight continued with Kimimaro largely unharmed and Hinata having withdrawn to wait for his next move.

• Kimimaro launched Ten Finger Bullet at Hinata, then charged with his bone sword aimed at her throat.
• Hinata leapt clear of the sword and struck at Kimimaro from above, but he evaded her palm and stabbed into the dust cloud.
• Hinata darted out of the dust and landed the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms on Kimimaro.
• Hinata retreated after seeing with her Byakugan that Kimimaro’s acupoints moved continuously, making the technique ineffective.
• Kimimaro got back to his feet, disheveled but seemingly little affected by Hinata’s attack.

Hinata fought Kimimaro with her Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, but he exploited a flaw in her movements and knocked her down. Kimimaro narrowly won the second round, while Hinata resolved to treat the fight as training and improve.

• Hinata formed purple lion heads around her fists and charged at Kimimaro.
• Hinata shattered Kimimaro's bone sword, then pressed her advantage with a series of attacks.
• Kimimaro dodged Hinata's strikes, found a flaw in her movements, and struck her arm, sending her flying.
• Hinata got back to her feet, recognized her mistakes, and decided to use the fight as training.
• Kimimaro narrowly won the second round by half a move.

Hinata abandoned the Gentle Fist’s restrictions and unleashed her full power against Kimimaro. As she launched her next attack, the battle entered a more intense stage.

• Hinata rose for the third round and decided to prioritize speed and strength over the Gentle Fist Style.
• Hinata released the Chakra she had kept concealed, surrounding herself in purple Chakra that whipped the trees with a fierce gale.
• Hinata’s aura and gaze sharpened as she clenched her left fist and moved, cracking the ground beneath her with the force of her burst.
• Kimimaro recognized that the battle would no longer unfold as it had before.

Hinata and her opponent’s powerful clash sent shockwaves across the battlefields, disrupting Shikamaru’s fight with Tayuya and Kiba’s fight with Sajin & Suigetsu. Hinata pulled back and prepared another attack as the battles continued.

• The shockwaves from Hinata’s battle disrupted Tayuya’s flute and blew Shikamaru out of hiding.
• Shikamaru recognized the clash as Hinata’s fight and reasoned that she might be the strongest among the twelve.
• Tayuya felt relieved that Kimimaro had arrived, since she could not risk activating her Cursed Seal.
• Kiba cursed after the shockwave interrupted his exchange of blows with Sajin & Suigetsu.
• Hinata retreated to an open area and launched the Mountain-Toppling Eight Trigrams Empty Palm.

Hinata unleashed a barrage of vacuum palms against Kimimaro, but he caught her with a bone whip and prepared a final attack. She freed herself with Revolving Heaven as Kimimaro burst from the dust, leaving their fight poised for another clash.

• Hinata invented Mountain-Toppling Eight Trigrams Empty Palm and struck Kimimaro with a barrage of invisible attacks.
• Kimimaro sent a bone whip through the dust, binding Hinata and dragging her toward him.
• Hinata used Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven to grind the bone whip into powder and stop herself from being dragged.
• Kimimaro burst from the dust wielding a weapon made from his bones, knowing he could not keep fighting much longer.

Hinata and Kimimaro clashed in a final exchange, but Hinata decided she did not need to keep matching his strongest attack head-on. She began to withdraw, leaving Kimimaro frustrated that she had not treated their fight as a destined duel.

• Kimimaro empowered by the Cursed Seal drove his bone drill into Hinata's Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, and the two attacks locked in a stalemate.
• Hinata struggled with dizziness from maintaining her rapid rotation, though her body could withstand the impact.
• Hinata decided to withdraw rather than waste her strength continuing the clash.
• Kimimaro, who was somewhat stronger without the Tenseigan, felt betrayed because he had regarded Hinata as a destined rival.

Hinata’s attempt to apologize and offer Kimimaro another chance only deepened his resentment. He gathered his remaining strength for one last effort, while Sajin & Suigetsu and Tayuya heard his cries and blamed his illness rather than Hinata.

• Kimimaro stared resentfully at Hinata as pain and exhaustion left him gasping.
• Hinata apologized for dodging and offered to try again, but Kimimaro took her words as mockery.
• Kimimaro resolved to use his remaining strength against Hinata and howled toward the sky.
• Sajin & Suigetsu and Tayuya recognized Kimimaro’s pained cries and speculated that his body had acted up again.

Hinata worried that the battle’s course had changed and that Sunagakure might turn against her group after they were weakened. Kimimaro unleashed a final surge of Chakra, named his ultimate technique, and collapsed, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Shikamaru and Kiba Inuzuka heard Hinata and fought harder, believing she would come to support them.
• Hinata regretted that her actions had helped lead Kimimaro toward darkness, while keeping watch for possible threats from Sunagakure.
• Kimimaro roared for nearly twenty breaths as Hinata considered whether Gaara and the others would come to their aid.
• Black Chakra enveloped Kimimaro and then began to disperse as he weakened.
• Kimimaro said, “Shikotsumyaku Ultimate Art, Bracken Dance,” and collapsed, apparently exhausted or dead.

Hinata escaped Kimimaro’s black bone forest by opening a spatial passage with the Tenseigan. She watched the corrosive dust from a safe distance and reflected on Kimimaro’s stubbornness.

• Hinata sensed danger as black bone spikes rose from the ground.
• Black dust fell from the bones and corroded everything in the forest except the bones.
• Hinata used the Tenseigan to open a spatial passage and emerged beyond the bone forest.
• Hinata watched the forest from a safe distance and thought about Kimimaro’s loyalty, strength, and stubbornness.

After defeating Kimimaro, Hinata regretted hesitating during their fight and worried about explaining the destruction it caused. She then remembered her companions and headed toward Shikamaru.

• Hinata reflected on Kimimaro's death and regretted that her hesitation had caused his decisive strike to miss.
• Hinata surveyed the damage from the battle and considered ways to conceal what had happened.
• Hinata imagined blaming an intervening expert or Hyuga Hiashi for Kimimaro's defeat.
• Hinata remembered her two companions and went to find Shikamaru Nara.

Hinata joined Shikamaru’s battle against Tayuya and overwhelmed her with a bundle of Explosive Tags. After the blast, Hinata had moved to a tree branch, leaving Tayuya to face her again.

• Hinata’s arrival made Tayuya realize Kimimaro had likely been defeated, and fear made her tremble.
• Hinata took about fifty Explosive Tags from her Sealing Scroll and hurled them at Tayuya.
• Tayuya dodged the tags, which detonated in a massive explosion that sent debris flying.
• Tayuya got back to her feet and turned to find Hinata standing on a tree branch.

Hinata kept attacking Tayuya with Explosive Tags, forcing Tayuya to summon three creatures to shield herself. Shikamaru watched from a distance as Hinata revealed more tags, while Hinata tried to conceal how much of the fight depended on her own strength.

• Hinata threw another batch of Explosive Tags at Tayuya.
• Tayuya summoned three huge creatures and used them to protect herself from the explosion.
• Hinata produced two more stacks of Explosive Tags, prompting Shikamaru to wonder how many she had brought.
• Shikamaru concluded that Hinata herself had played a crucial role in the fight, despite her use of Explosive Tags.
• Hinata resolved to hide as much of her strength as possible, though people might now secretly call her the Explosive Tag Queen.

Hinata accepted her bomb-related label after dealing with Tayuya, then joined Shikamaru and Kakashi at Kiba Inuzuka’s battlefield. Kakashi ordered Hinata, Shikamaru, and the injured Kiba to return to Konoha while he handled Sasuke Uchiha and Uzumaki Naruto.

• Hinata accepted the label and watched Tayuya leave, relieved that the encounter was over.
• Hinata noticed Shikamaru eyeing her ninja tool pouch after she had used hundreds of Explosive Tags against Tayuya.
• Hinata and Shikamaru arrived to find Kiba Inuzuka injured and Kakashi already fighting Sajin and Suigetsu.
• Sajin and Suigetsu fled after Hinata and Shikamaru arrived, and Kakashi gathered the group without pursuing them.
• Kakashi ordered Hinata, Shikamaru, and Kiba to return to Konoha and bring back Neji Hyuga and Choji Akimichi if possible, while he dealt with Sasuke Uchiha and Uzumaki Naruto.

Hinata decided not to seek out Naruto and Sasuke’s battle and hurried back with her companions to protect them. They found Neji unconscious or possibly dead and confirmed that Kidomaru had died, leaving Neji’s fate uncertain.

• Hinata decided that Kakashi’s arrival meant Naruto and Sasuke’s battle was nearly over, so she gave up on watching it.
• Hinata regretted her reckless use of Explosive Tags and resolved to think things through before acting next time.
• Hinata and her companions hurried back along the path, hoping to protect their friends at a critical moment.
• They followed the destruction to two craters and found Neji lying in one, his condition unknown, and Kidomaru lying dead in the other.
• Kiba sent Akamaru to check Kidomaru, while Hinata’s Byakugan showed that almost all the Chakra in his body had dissipated.

The team confirmed Kidomaru’s death and gave the critically wounded Neji Hyuga emergency treatment before setting out for Konoha. Konoha Anbu arrived to take Neji, while Tsunade’s response to Sasuke’s defection had escalated under pressure from a scheming elder.

• The team confirmed that Kidomaru was dead and left his body for others to handle.
• Hinata used her Byakugan and acupuncture-point sealing technique to stop Neji Hyuga’s bleeding.
• Shikamaru carried Neji as the injured Kiba Inuzuka and Choji Akimichi continued with them toward Konoha.
• Four masked Konoha Anbu appeared, and one of them took Neji Hyuga away.
• Tsunade had dispatched the Anbu because Sasuke’s defection had become a threat to Konoha amid an elder’s interference.

An Anbu ninja escorted Hinata, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Neji to Konoha’s medical team, where Neji received treatment and Kiba collapsed from exhaustion. Shikamaru learned that Choji was also in grave danger.

• Tsunade ordered a returning Anbu team to bring back the Konoha shinobi, and one masked ninja joined Hinata’s group.
• The Anbu ninja told them that Konoha’s medical team was ahead and that Choji had already been taken for treatment.
• Hinata recognized the Anbu ninja as Yamato, or Tenzo, while he wondered why she seemed to know his name.
• The group reached the medical team, and a medic examined Neji, who was expected to survive until they reached Konoha.
• Kiba collapsed, and the Anbu ninja caught him as medical ninjas began treating him.
• Shikamaru asked about Choji and learned that his condition was as dangerous as Neji’s.

Hinata's group returned to Konoha, where Tsunade and Shizune began treating the wounded. Hinata left to get food, while Kakashi slowly carried the unconscious Naruto back with Pakkun beside him.

• Shikamaru worried after the battle, and Hinata sensed his tangled emotions.
• Medical ninjas checked Shikamaru and Hinata for injuries, and both said they were fine.
• Tsunade welcomed Hinata's group back to Konoha and began treating Choji Akimichi and Neji Hyuga.
• Shizune joined Tsunade in treating the wounded, while Hinata slipped away to find food.
• Kakashi slowly carried the unconscious Naruto toward Konoha as Pakkun followed at his side.

Kakashi returned to the battlefield and found a vast forest of black bones left by the fight. Two Anbu speculated about the strange Kekkei Genkai and prepared to search for Yao, but then spotted Kakashi approaching with Naruto in his arms.

• Kakashi returned to the battlefield and saw the immense black bone forest and two familiar figures in the distance.
• Two Anbu discussed the forest's power and wondered whether it came from the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai.
• The Anbu decided to look for Yao, who had not appeared since the squad split up to investigate.
• The Anbu spotted Kakashi walking toward them with Naruto in his arms.