Chapter Summaries

Tenten, Rock Lee, and Hinata scouted the Kurotsuchi Clan’s mining operation and assessed the guards’ strength. They found no sign of Raiga or Ranmaru, though Hinata suspected they were at the mountain’s summit.

• Tenten, Rock Lee, and Hinata watched the mine entrance as workers carried ore under the watch of black-robed guards.
• Rock Lee identified the guards as members of the Kurotsuchi Clan, and Hinata used her Byakugan to scout the area.
• Hinata counted about thirteen Kurotsuchi Clan members outside, another thirteen inside the mine, and roughly eight more nearby.
• Hinata found no unusually large chakra signature but suspected Raiga and Ranmaru were at the mountaintop.
• Rock Lee judged the clan’s members to be only slightly stronger than bandits and reasoned that Rokosuke probably had not anticipated Hinata’s scouting ability.

Tenten and Rock Lee decided to act against the Kurotsuchi Clan after witnessing a laborer being whipped. Hinata and the others advanced in secret toward the mining pit, leaving the confrontation still ahead.

• Rock Lee urged the group to stop hesitating about the Kurotsuchi Clan, while Tenten wished Neji were there to make the decision.
• A Kurotsuchi Clan member repeatedly whipped and insulted a laborer who had fallen and spilled ore.
• Tenten agreed to Rock Lee's plan after seeing the laborer abused.
• Hinata, Tenten, and the others quietly covered the kilometer to the mining pit without alerting the enemy.

Tenten, Rock Lee, and Hinata attacked the Kurotsuchi Clan guards at Wood Sorrel Gold Mine Mountain and helped the villagers escape. The clan members’ fanatic resistance and the rising mist suggested Raiga Kurosuki was behind the operation, and the chapter ended as the guards began to withdraw into the mist.

• Tenten, Rock Lee, and Hinata launched a surprise attack on the Kurotsuchi Clan guards, with Hinata and Rock Lee fighting while Tenten organized the villagers’ escape.
• Tenten identified herself, chose local leaders to guide the villagers, and sent dozens of people toward home.
• Tenten returned to find Rock Lee and Hinata surrounded by fanatical Kurotsuchi Clan members who kept attacking despite repeated defeats.
• Rock Lee and Tenten suspected that Raiga Kurosuki was controlling the Kurotsuchi Clan.
• Dark clouds gathered and mist thickened around the battlefield, after which the Kurotsuchi Clan members began withdrawing.

Rock Lee, Tenten, and Hinata discovered that the masked Kurotsuchi Clan member they had subdued was Karashi, Granny Sansho’s grandson. Karashi asked after Granny Sansho, leaving his reasons for joining the group unclear.

• Rock Lee knocked the last masked man down, then recognized him as Karashi after removing his face covering.
• Rock Lee asked Karashi why he was with the Kurotsuchi Clan, while Tenten wondered whether he was Granny Sansho’s missing grandson.
• Rock Lee punched Karashi and said he had disappointed both him and Granny Sansho.
• Karashi’s expression changed at the mention of Granny Sansho, and he asked whether she was doing well.
• Rock Lee told Karashi that Granny Sansho was worried about him and criticized him for becoming a bad guy.

Tenten warned Karashi about the consequences of joining the Kurotsuchi Clan’s abuse of the villagers, but Hinata believed he might not be a bad person. As they traveled through dense fog, the group relied on Hinata’s Byakugan to see.

• Tenten asked Karashi whether he could watch villagers from his own village being abused and warned that his actions could hurt Granny Sansho.
• Karashi said he had acted on his own and would bear the consequences, but Tenten challenged him to explain how.
• Hinata suggested Karashi was new to the Kurotsuchi Clan and might be excluded by its members, then said she did not think he was truly bad.
• Tenten privately worried that Hinata trusted people too easily and chose not to press the argument further.
• The fog thickened until visibility was only a few meters, but Hinata’s Byakugan reduced the danger for the group.

Hinata identified the abnormal fog as Kirigakure’s Hidden Mist Technique and suspected Raiga Kurosuki was behind it. As the group kept watch, Tenten and Rock Lee praised Hinata’s knowledge, leaving her flustered.

• Tenten asked Karashi what had caused the thick fog, and he said he believed the Kurotsuchi Clan Head was responsible.
• Hinata identified the fog as the Hidden Mist Technique and said its wide, rapid spread suggested a powerful user.
• Hinata suspected the enemy was Raiga Kurosuki, a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
• Rock Lee and Tenten praised Hinata’s knowledge, and she blushed and tried to downplay it.
• Tenten, Rock Lee, and Hinata continued watching their surroundings.

Hinata activated her Byakugan to investigate the eerie silence around the group, while Raiga watched from a nearby mountaintop and had Ranmaru interfere. Hinata saw what appeared to be more than fifty people surrounding them, but she did not tell Tenten and Rock Lee.

• Tenten grew impatient with the silence and asked Hinata to use her Byakugan to scout the area.
• Raiga watched the group from a nearby peak, where he had made a habit of observing the mining site.
• Ranmaru warned Raiga that Hinata was activating her Byakugan, and Raiga told him to interfere without overexerting himself.
• Hinata activated her Byakugan and saw red dust gathering before her eyes, along with what appeared to be hidden people surrounding the group.
• Hinata kept what she saw to herself rather than tell Tenten and Rock Lee.

Raiga learned that Hinata had seen through Ranmaru’s ninjutsu and reconsidered his plans. After his Kurotsuchi Clan subordinates withdrew, he ordered them to stay out of the fight, leaving the confrontation to Raiga and the three Konoha ninja.

• Ranmaru told Raiga that the other side had seen through his ninjutsu, and Raiga suspected Hinata’s power was connected to one of the three great eyes.
• Raiga decided they needed to change their strategy after the original plan failed.
• A black-robed subordinate reported that the Kurotsuchi Clan members had withdrawn and asked Raiga what to do next.
• Raiga ordered the subordinates not to interfere, calling them too weak to be useful against Hinata and the other two Konoha ninja.
• The black-robed man accepted Raiga’s harsh advice and thanked him.

Raiga sent the Kurotsuchi Clan away and reflected with Ranmaru on how their life together had changed him. He decided to confront Hinata, Tenten, and Rock Lee, while Ranmaru sensed a powerful newcomer approaching.

• Raiga told the black-robed man to lead the Kurotsuchi Clan members to a village near Wood Sorrel Gold Mine Mountain.
• After the clan members left, Raiga told Ranmaru that knowing him had changed Raiga's feelings about life.
• Ranmaru said that being together with Raiga made anywhere feel like home.
• Raiga resolved to teach Hinata, Tenten, and the others a lesson, and Ranmaru accepted his decision.
• Ranmaru sensed someone powerful approaching and identified him as a former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist member from Kirigakure.

Hinata, Tenten, and Rock Lee confronted Raiga Kurosuki after he threatened to hold a funeral for them. Hinata had claimed they could not safely leave through the mist, though she had actually chosen to stay and face him.

• Raiga taunted the Konoha team and promised to bury them, while insisting he respected the dead.
• Tenten challenged Raiga over his obsession with holding funerals for living people and recounted his background as a former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and S-rank Rogue Ninja.
• Hinata used her Byakugan to track Raiga as Tenten and Rock Lee prepared for an attack.
• Karashi hid behind a boulder while the others faced Raiga.
• Hinata had told Rock Lee and Tenten that the mist and possible ambushes made escape unsafe, but she knew they could have left.

Hinata decided to fight Raiga so she could study Ranmaru's Kekkei Genkai, despite the risk of Tenten and Rock Lee witnessing the battle. The long-silent system then spoke again, claiming its absence had been an independent upgrade.

• Hinata realized Raiga's movements had become difficult to track through her Byakugan and anticipated a fight.
• Hinata chose to confront Raiga rather than leave, because she feared losing her chance to study Ranmaru's Kekkei Genkai.
• Hinata considered the risk of Tenten and Rock Lee noticing the fight and thought she could alter their memories if necessary.
• The system spoke to Hinata after a long silence and told her it had been upgrading independently.

Hinata received a mission to protect Ranmaru, an outcast protagonist, in exchange for a special character generation opportunity. She began planning to separate from Tenten and Rock Lee, claiming her Byakugan was tiring her out.

• The system issued Hinata a mission to protect Ranmaru and promised a special character generation opportunity as the reward.
• Hinata guessed the reward might generate a Kekkei Tōta and decided to prepare carefully for the mission.
• Hinata planned to find a chance to shake off Tenten and Rock Lee.
• Hinata stumbled and told Tenten and Rock Lee that keeping her Byakugan activated for so long had worn her out.
• Rock Lee and Tenten urged Hinata to turn off her Byakugan and avoid pushing herself.

Raiga used a massive lightning attack to blast apart the fog and separate Hinata, Tenten, and Rock Lee. Hinata reactivated her Byakugan and spotted a figure nearby, whom she was eager to talk to.

• Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, and Tenten told her to rest while it was still useful later.
• Raiga thickened the fog, prompting Tenten to warn Hinata and Rock Lee that he was trying to separate them.
• A huge sphere of lightning struck near Hinata, forcing all three to dodge in different directions.
• The lightning blast dispersed the fog and left Hinata separated from Tenten and Rock Lee.
• Hinata reactivated her Byakugan and saw a figure nearby, thinking that Raiga had come to find her.

Hinata met Raiga in the wilderness after he targeted her first, and his killing intent forced her to treat the encounter as a serious fight. The chapter left them facing off as Hinata reconsidered her growing arrogance toward powerful opponents.

• Hinata realized Raiga would target her first because of her Byakugan.
• Raiga used his ability to temporarily trap Tenten and Rock Lee in something like Genjutsu.
• Hinata saw Raiga approaching with the Thunder Saber Fang and noticed that his backpack containing Ranmaru was missing.
• Raiga's killing intent reminded Hinata that their meeting was a life-or-death battle.
• Hinata recognized that dismissing opponents like Raiga could prove dangerous against stronger foes in the future.

Hinata reflected on Dawn, the organization she had built to serve her needs, while Raiga tried to understand her apparent lack of concern as he prepared to attack. The chapter ended with Raiga masking his confusion behind a grin, still confident he could defeat her.

• Hinata decided she was not interested in ruling the ninja world and had mostly let go of Dawn, which its members could run without her attention.
• Hinata considered Dawn a useful force that would not betray her and that could act on her behalf when needed.
• Raiga studied Hinata and was puzzled by her lazy, seemingly indifferent attitude toward the danger he posed.
• Raiga recalled separating Hinata, Rock Lee, and Tenten so he could face them one at a time, confident they were no match for him.
• Raiga hid his awkwardness with a grin and peculiar laugh as he prepared to continue the confrontation.

Raiga confronted Hinata and charged at her with the Thunder Saber Fang, believing he could defeat her with taijutsu. Ranmaru watched from inside his backpack and apologized tearfully, while Hinata prepared for Raiga’s attack.

• Raiga mocked Hinata for not being afraid, then abandoned his strange act after covering up his embarrassment.
• Raiga left Ranmaru on the mountaintop, not realizing Ranmaru was still inside his oversized backpack.
• Ranmaru watched Hinata and Raiga with his Kekkei Genkai and quietly apologized as tears fell.
• Raiga lunged at Hinata with the Thunder Saber Fang, hoping to save Chakra by relying on taijutsu.
• Hinata had already prepared to face Raiga.

Hinata fought Raiga, using her Gentle Fist to evade and deflect his Thunder Saber Fang attacks. As Raiga grew more aggressive and boasted about his strength, Hinata found an opening to strike at an acupoint from a tricky angle.

• Raiga charged Hinata with his Thunder Saber Fang, and she dodged while targeting an acupoint on his shoulder.
• Raiga attacked with both weapons, forcing Hinata to withdraw before she knocked one blade off course with her Chakra-infused hands.
• Hinata evaded Raiga's second blade, ending their first exchange as he praised her skill and increased the ferocity of his attacks.
• Raiga continued to rely on taijutsu, and Hinata struck from an unusual angle toward an acupoint beyond the Thunder Saber Fang's reach.

Hinata’s counterattack failed to strike Raiga’s acupoint, but it convinced him she was far more capable than he had first assumed. Raiga stopped underestimating her and decided not to rely on taijutsu alone.

• Hinata struck at Raiga’s acupoint, but he shifted his body and took the blow on an ordinary spot.
• Hinata regretted missing her chance to follow up with the Gentle Fist techniques she had prepared.
• Raiga reassessed Hinata after seeing how precisely she had judged the opening and counterattacked.
• Raiga wondered how someone as strong as Hinata could still be a genin and resolved to stop relying on taijutsu alone.

Hinata used her Gentle Fist to attack Raiga after he backed away from their taijutsu fight, and she began adapting Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm to make up for its weak damage. The chapter left her invisible palm blast racing toward Raiga.

• Raiga decided to stop fighting Hinata with taijutsu and leaped back to create distance.
• Hinata anticipated that Raiga planned to use Lightning Release and launched Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm at him.
• Hinata used a longer execution of the technique, drawing on her own understanding to increase its power.
• Hinata reflected that Vacuum Palm was quick and difficult to see but too weak, and that she wanted to improve its strength.

Hinata and Raiga clashed as Raiga empowered his Sword Lightning with his twin blades and broke through her Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Hinata evaded the attack, which devastated the ground where she had been standing.

• Hinata considered how to build power in her palm strike without pouring in enough Chakra to damage her arm’s meridians.
• Hinata launched her palm strike at Raiga, who leaped from a boulder and charged his twin blades with lightning-nature Chakra.
• Raiga fired Sword Lightning at Hinata as she unleashed her improved Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.
• Raiga’s Sword Lightning broke through the weakening Vacuum Palm, and Hinata retreated before it reached her.
• Sword Lightning blasted Hinata’s former position into craters and carved two deep trenches into the ground.