Chapter Summaries

Hinata, Tenten, and Rock Lee returned to Konoha with Ranmaru after their mission ran far over schedule. They reported to Tsunade at the Hokage Building, where Tenten and Rock Lee began explaining what had happened.

• Hinata reflected on the danger outside Konoha and felt safer returning home.
• Hinata, Tenten, and Rock Lee completed the return procedures with gate guards Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane.
• The group headed to the Hokage Building with Ranmaru to report the mission and discuss what should be done with him.
• Hinata's group encountered Tsunade and Shizune as they were leaving the office, so Tsunade returned to her seat.
• Tenten and Rock Lee immediately began recounting the mission to Tsunade.

Tenten and Rock Lee recounted their mission to Tsunade and Shizune, whose confusion grew as the story became increasingly baffling. After the report, Tsunade summoned Ranmaru to discuss his special Kekkei Genkai, while Hinata and the others left him to meet with her.

• Tsunade's resentment faded when the account revealed that the group had encountered the dangerous rogue ninja Raiga Kurosuki.
• Tenten and Rock Lee told Hinata's story for her, leaving Tsunade and Shizune increasingly confused by the report.
• Tsunade thanked Tenten and Rock Lee, told them to rest, and said she would meet with Ranmaru.
• Hinata worried that Ranmaru had to endure the meeting or both of them would be in trouble.
• A Konoha ninja brought Ranmaru into the Hokage's Office, and Hinata, Rock Lee, and Tenten said goodbye and left.

After questioning Ranmaru and arranging his treatment at Konoha Hospital, Tsunade sensed that some detail in the incident remained unclear, though she could not identify it. She set aside her doubts and went to lunch with Shizune.

• Tsunade arranged for Ranmaru to be sent to Konoha Hospital and promised to treat him that evening.
• Tsunade asked Shizune what had really happened in the incident and said something still felt wrong.
• Shizune suggested Tsunade might suspect Hinata, but Tsunade said Hinata herself might have overlooked details.
• Tsunade abandoned the discussion, complained about becoming Hokage, and agreed to go eat with Shizune at a dumpling shop.

Hinata returned to the Hyuga Clan and enjoyed a large meal after arriving home. While she ate, Aunt Yamada began telling another aunt that the daimyo of the Land of Sea had visited Konoha and met with the Fifth Hokage.

• Hinata returned to the Hyuga Clan and felt warmth at being home.
• Hinata learned from the gate guards that Hanabi had left with a respected clan elder.
• Hinata asked Aunt Yamanaka and another aunt to prepare her a meal because she was still hungry.
• Hinata ate while Aunt Yamada and another aunt talked nearby.
• Aunt Yamada told the other aunt that the daimyo of the Land of Sea had visited Konoha and been received by the Fifth Hokage.

Aunt Yamada and another aunt gossiped about the daimyo of the Land of Sea expressing interest in Tsunade, then wondered who might suit her as a spouse. Yamada said Tsunade was too outstanding to have a suitable match and warned the other aunt not to speak carelessly about Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

• Aunt Yamada told the other aunt that the daimyo of the Land of Sea had repeatedly expressed a desire to be with Tsunade.
• The other aunt agreed that the daimyo was unworthy of Tsunade, and Yamada praised Tsunade’s status and abilities.
• Yamada and the other aunt noted that Tsunade was around fifty and wondered whether she intended to marry.
• Yamada said Tsunade seemed to have no suitable partner, and the other aunt suggested Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
• Yamada warned the other aunt not to speak carelessly about Jiraiya and Orochimaru, saying she did not know the full story.

Aunt Yamada explained why Jiraiya was an unsuitable match for Tsunade, citing his peeping habit. She then began to reveal a secret about the Sannin’s youth, leaving the story before disclosing what happened.

• Aunt Yamada said Orochimaru could not be with Tsunade because he had defected from the village and become an S-class Rogue Ninja.
• Aunt Yamada described Jiraiya as otherwise suitable but said his habit of peeping at women made him disgraceful in the eyes of ladies.
• The other aunt said she had rarely visited hot spring inns and regretted that Jiraiya’s habit made him a poor match for Tsunade.
• Aunt Yamada warned the other aunt to keep a secret, then said it involved events among the Sannin when they were young and had just begun to distinguish themselves on the battlefield.

Aunt Yamada told Hinata her version of how Tsunade's pursuit of Orochimaru and Jiraiya's unreturned feelings supposedly led to Jiraiya's peeping habit. Hinata let the gossip continue until she had finished eating, then brought the cooks back to their duties.

• Aunt Yamada claimed Tsunade had pursued Orochimaru, who had rejected her advances.
• Aunt Yamada said Jiraiya had quietly pursued Tsunade, but she failed to notice until after giving up on romance.
• Aunt Yamada blamed Jiraiya's heartbreak and lack of an outlet for his peeping habit.
• Hinata lost interest in the conversation and tapped her chopsticks on the table, then coughed to interrupt the two aunts.
• Aunt Yamada and the other aunt noticed Hinata had eaten most of the food and felt awkward about neglecting their duties.

After dinner, Hinata called Aunt Yamada back because she wanted to discuss something with her. Aunt Yamada feared she would be punished for chatting too much and waited anxiously to learn what Hinata intended.

• Hinata's cough and look frightened Aunt Yamada and the other aunt, though they misunderstood her warning.
• After the meal, Hinata stayed seated while Aunt Yamada and the other aunt cleared the table.
• Hinata stopped Aunt Yamada as she was leaving and said she had something to discuss with her.
• The other aunt took the cleaning tools and left, while Aunt Yamada worried she might be dismissed for her mistake.

Hinata asked Aunt Yamada to help care for a friend after his treatment at Konoha Hospital, since the Hyuga Clan would not allow an outsider to stay on its grounds. Aunt Yamada readily agreed, and Hinata began explaining the situation.

• Aunt Yamada worried that Hinata might make a dangerous demand, while Hinata wondered why she seemed so unsettled.
• Hinata asked Aunt Yamada for help and clarified that she could refuse because it was a personal matter.
• Aunt Yamada promised to help with whatever she could, leaving Hinata puzzled by her reaction.
• Hinata explained that her weak friend was at Konoha Hospital and would need care after Tsunade treated him.
• Hinata said she wanted to entrust her friend to someone she knew because the Hyuga Clan would not let an outsider live on its grounds.

Hinata offered Aunt Yamada a caregiving role with a salary three times her current pay, and Yamada accepted after weighing her granddaughter’s future and their finances. Hinata explained Ranmaru’s circumstances, leaving Yamada tearful at the thought of his loneliness and illness.

• Hinata offered Aunt Yamada the chance to care for Ranmaru and promised to seek her father’s support for tripling Yamada’s salary.
• Aunt Yamada considered her granddaughter’s future, the cost of the Ninja Academy, and her limited income after losing her husband and daughter.
• Aunt Yamada accepted Hinata’s offer and asked her to explain the details.
• Hinata told Yamada that Ranmaru had no parents, was alone in the world, and suffered from a terrible illness, and Yamada’s eyes filled with tears.

Hinata arranged for Aunt Yamada to take care of Ranmaru, believing that he was unusual and that she could learn more from him. After leaving Ranmaru with Aunt Yamada, Hinata returned to her room to rest and woke in the early hours of the next day.

• Yamada offered to take care of Ranmaru, and Hinata accepted, relieved to set aside one of her worries.
• Hinata reflected that Ranmaru was different and recalled his words that she was truly alone.
• Hinata left after Aunt Yamada and went straight back to her room.
• Hinata slept to recover from the exhaustion of traveling and woke around three or four in the morning.

Hinata woke hungry in the middle of the night, found an apple beside her bed, and ate it while contacting the system to claim her reward for protecting Ranmaru. The system came online and warned her not to stay awake at three or four in the morning just to call it.

• Hinata woke hungry and considered looking for food in her home's kitchen before deciding to eat an apple from the table beside her bed.
• Hinata remembered that the system had declared her mission to protect Ranmaru complete after she and the others brought him back to Konoha.
• Hinata contacted the system to open the mission's special treasure chest reward.
• The system came online and reminded Hinata not to stay awake at three or four in the morning just to call it.

Hinata claimed her mission reward and learned that it let her generate a special character with one of several powerful talents or Kekkei Genkai. She considered choosing the Sharingan but discovered that her Reward Points could only evolve it to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

• Hinata asked the system for her completed mission reward, and it added one Special Character Generation Opportunity to her warehouse.
• Hinata used the opportunity and reviewed the available options, including the Sharingan, Dust Release, weakened Wood Release, and several specialized talents.
• The system explained that Sharingan generated through this opportunity could evolve without pain or rage, provided Hinata had enough Reward Points.
• Hinata checked her balance and learned that her 34,210 Reward Points would only evolve the Sharingan to Three-Tomoe, leaving her 16,000 short of the Mangekyo.

Hinata weighed whether to spend her Reward Points on the Mangekyō Sharingan or another combat ability, then decided the Dawn Organization needed an intelligence specialist more than another strong fighter. She told the system to create an Intelligence-Specialized Character.

• Hinata hesitated over spending her Reward Points on the Mangekyō Sharingan, noting she was sixteen thousand points short.
• She considered Dust Release and Wood Release but decided the Dawn Organization already had enough powerful combatants.
• Hinata concluded the organization needed someone to devise strategies and organize its members and outer affiliates.
• Hinata asked the system to create an Intelligence-Specialized Character.

Hinata created an intelligence-oriented character named Wu Zhu and set his generation location near Winter Rain in the Land of Rivers. After activating real-time sharing, she saw the character's location from above, atop a mountain.

• Hinata entered Wu Zhu's details, including his age, height, weight, and crafty personality tendency.
• Hinata ordered the system to generate Wu Zhu in the Land of Rivers, within roughly five kilometers of Winter Rain's generation site.
• The system absorbed resources and began creating the character while Hinata waited.
• Hinata activated real-time sharing and saw a mountain summit surrounded by steep cliffs.

Hinata watched Character Generator No. 2 finish operating atop the mountain in the Land of Rivers through the system’s real-time sharing function. The hatch opened amid an earthquake-like tremor and rising vapor as piano notes began to play.

• Hinata saw the enormous, dark-red Character Generator No. 2 at the mountain summit and noticed its two smokestacks.
• Hinata decided not to approach the machine because she believed it had finished generating a character.
• The machine released steam, and the ground shook until massive rocks rolled down the mountain.
• The hatch opened with a series of cracking sounds as white vapor rose around it.
• Piano notes began to ring out as Hinata expected.

Hinata and the others witnessed a giant human palm appear in the sky as Moonlight Sonata played, then slam toward the ground before vanishing. The strange event left the night sky looking unchanged.

• Hinata recognized the piano piece as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
• After the prelude ended, the plants bent under an immense force as wind stirred and clouds churned.
• A vast shape emerged in the sky, revealing five pillar-like forms that made some people suspect it was a palm.
• The enormous human palm became fully visible, complete with palm lines, and slammed toward the ground.
• Winds swept sand and dust through the area, and the palm vanished, leaving the moon and stars unchanged.

Heyan reflected on the mysterious giant hand that had appeared in the sky and what it might mean for the Dawn Organization. He realized his clansmen had descended into chaos and darkened his expression.

• Heyan's people argued over whether the sky phenomenon had really happened, and their disagreement grew close to a fight.
• Heyan recalled the earlier appearance of paper scraps in the sky and wondered what the giant hand signified.
• Heyan thought about his connection to Hinata Hyuga, the Dawn Organization, and the core member known as Ethereal.
• Heyan emerged from his thoughts, saw his clansmen in complete disarray, and grew exhausted and angry at their behavior.

Heyan quieted the camp after a mysterious giant hand caused alarm and confusion among the travelers. On the mountain, the mist cleared around the strange machine, revealing that its occupant had stepped out while still seeming to boot up.

• Heyan shouted at the arguing travelers and ordered them to sleep, keep watch, or inventory their goods.
• The camp’s commotion spread as people feared wild beasts were attacking, and Heyan rushed outside without his shoes.
• After seeing what had happened, Heyan returned to his tent and thought the travelers were making too much of the shocking scene.
• Someone called for everyone to return to their duties, and the camp gradually settled down.
• On the mountain, the giant hand vanished and the person inside the strange machine became visible, having stepped outside while still in a daze.

Hinata watched Wu Zhu awaken on a mountaintop after the mist and enormous machine vanished, and recognized that his friendly appearance concealed a crafty mind. Wu Zhu began assessing his strange surroundings, finding himself alone beneath the moonlight.

• The mist dissipated, and the enormous machine disappeared, leaving an empty figure on the mountain.
• Wu Zhu opened his eyes, revealing a boyish appearance and a gentle, welcoming smile.
• Hinata remembered that Wu Zhu had a crafty personality and intelligence-focused attributes, and became wary of his charm.
• Wu Zhu examined the mountaintop and subtly reacted to finding himself alone beneath the moonlight.