Chapter Summaries

Hinata passed Hyuga Hiashi’s tests by keeping up her timid disguise, even when he nearly struck her from behind. Hiashi remained suspicious after she left the study, unable to identify what felt wrong.

• Hinata suppressed her instinct to dodge as Hyuga Hiashi thrust his palm toward her back, and he stopped just short of hitting her.
• Hiashi returned Hinata’s necklace and told her to be more careful, and Hinata thanked him before leaving the study.
• Hinata privately cursed Hiashi for testing her and decided she needed something to eat.
• Hiashi recalled Hinata holding back during their spar and Hanabi’s report, but he could find no flaw in Hinata’s behavior despite his lingering suspicions.

Hyuga Hiashi concluded that Hinata was hiding her true abilities and chose not to expose her, relieved that she could take care of herself. The next day, Hinata skipped school with a Shadow Clone and went to meet Snow Bird at Hokage Rock.

• Hyuga Hiashi reflected on Hinata's calmness during his test and decided she was concealing something.
• Hyuga Hiashi chose to trust Hinata's future choices and felt relieved that she no longer needed his constant worry.
• Hinata returned to her room, planned to take a bath, and congratulated herself on passing her father's tests through acting.
• Hinata got up early, decided not to trouble Ino, and planned to tease Naruto instead.
• Hinata sent a Shadow Clone to attend school, left using Body Flicker Techniques, and headed to Hokage Rock to meet Snow Bird.
• Hinata found Snow Bird, who was using the alias Tsukitora Ren, standing on the First Hokage's head in proper Hokage-style clothing.

Hinata and Snow Bird entered the secret base hidden inside the Third Hokage’s head, where Hinata discovered Konoha-wide explosive wiring but found no valuables or useful shelter. She planned to report the explosive network after becoming a genin in exchange for contribution points and a chance to inspect the Scroll of Seals.

• Hinata directed Snow Bird to visit Senju Hanaoyu’s tailor shop and ask for a custom outfit.
• Hinata led Snow Bird to Hokage Rock and opened a concealed entrance in the Third Hokage’s right eye.
• Snow Bird followed Hinata into the hollowed-out head and pushed the stone entrance closed behind them.
• Hinata used her Byakugan to inspect the base and found explosive tags and circuits connected to Konoha’s network.
• Hinata decided to report the explosives to the Hokage after graduating and becoming a genin, hoping to earn contribution points and see the Scroll of Seals.
• Hinata found no treasure or useful supplies in the base and decided it was not worth using as a secret hideout.

Hinata decided that the First Hokage's head would not make a suitable secret base and sent Snow Bird to travel, train, scout locations, and eventually take bounty missions. To keep in touch with him across the ninja world, she spent 10,000 Reward Points to learn the Illusionary Body Technique.

• Hinata dismissed the idea of building a secret base inside the First Hokage's head and considered learning about Orochimaru's bases instead.
• Hinata asked Snow Bird what he wanted to do, and he said he wanted to travel around the ninja world.
• Hinata let Snow Bird travel while training, searching for possible base locations, and preparing to take missions at the Bounty Exchange once he grew stronger.
• Hinata realized she needed a way to communicate with Snow Bird and exchanged 10,000 Reward Points for the Illusionary Body Technique.
• Hinata learned that the Illusionary Body Technique used Deva Path Pain as a signal tower to create remote 3D projections for communication.

Hinata gave Snow Bird a brooch engraved with a formula so he could use the Illusionary Body Technique, then sent him to Senju Hanaoyu’s tailor shop. Senju Hanaoyu suspected Snow Bird had joined Hinata’s new force, while Snow Bird warned her not to test his patience.

• Hinata bought twelve star-shaped brooches, carved the formula onto them with the Tenseigan, and pinned one onto Snow Bird.
• Hinata explained how to use the brooch and returned to the academy, while Snow Bird went to Senju Hanaoyu’s tailor shop for custom clothes.
• Snow Bird told Senju Hanaoyu that Shuoyue had sent him to find her.
• Senju Hanaoyu guessed that Snow Bird belonged to the force Hinata had mentioned and wondered whether he came from the Waterless Moon Clan.
• Snow Bird let frost spread around him and warned Senju Hanaoyu not to test his patience, then told her to call him Snow Bird.

Snow Bird warned Senju Hanaoyu not to overstep, and she agreed to honor her promise to Shuoyue by making the organization’s clothes and keeping its secrets. At the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the search for the Yuki Clan member suspended for now and kept Kakashi behind, prompting Kakashi to ask about becoming a Guiding Jonin.

• Snow Bird threatened Senju Hanaoyu and reminded her that Shuoyue had respected the Senju name, not her choice to flee.
• Senju Hanaoyu admitted she had lost the right to act as an elder and promised to make the organization’s clothes and keep its secrets.
• After Snow Bird left, Senju Hanaoyu reflected on how she had changed from a Senju into a coward.
• Kakashi reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi that the Yuki Clan member was hiding in Konoha but had left no usable trail.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi cited the extermination of Kirigakure’s Yuki and Hozuki clans and ordered the search paused while Anbu monitored Konoha.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi dismissed Team Guy and asked Kakashi to stay, and Kakashi asked whether it concerned his becoming a Guiding Jonin.

Kakashi accepted Hiruzen Sarutobi’s assignment to guide the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the Uchiha orphan, while dreading the possibility of Hinata joining them. A month later, Hinata watched Naruto disrupt the class’s final practice before the graduation exam, which Iruka ended by praising most students’ performances.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Kakashi to guide the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the Uchiha orphan, with a third candidate to be chosen after the graduation exam.
• Kakashi left the Hokage Building worrying that his future team might include Hinata as well.
• The day before the official exam, Hinata noticed Naruto was absent from class and suspected Iruka had gone to find him.
• During transformation practice, Naruto used Sexy Jutsu and sent Iruka flying with a nosebleed.
• Iruka scolded Naruto, then told the class he was satisfied with most of their performances.

As the Ninja Academy graduation exam approached, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Naruto through a crystal ball and wondered how he would perform. Hinata discussed her plans and hopes with Hyuga Hiashi, who read alarming implications into her words after she left.

• Iruka dismissed class after reminding the students about the Will of Fire and advising them to prepare calmly for the next day's graduation exam.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Naruto through his crystal ball and said that Naruto's performance tomorrow would decide things.
• Hyuga Hiashi asked Hinata about her plans after graduation and whether she had a dream.
• Hinata described hoping that she and her friends would still be together decades later, healthy and able to reminisce about their dreams.
• After Hinata left, Hyuga Hiashi privately analyzed her words as a possible hint that her friends might become enemies.

Hinata watched Naruto fail the Clone Technique graduation exam, believing the result would lead him to steal the Scroll of Seals and learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. As Mizuki went to comfort Naruto, Hinata considered getting involved in the events planned for that night.

• Iruka announced that the graduation exam would test the Clone Technique, and Hinata anticipated Naruto’s failure and the events that would follow.
• Iruka rejected Naruto’s exam result, while the other twenty-six students passed.
• Naruto left the classroom and went to sit alone on the swing beneath the large tree.
• Mizuki offered to comfort Naruto, and Iruka entrusted him with the task.
• Hinata headed home and wondered whether she should get involved in Naruto’s planned theft of the Scroll of Seals.

Hinata avoided getting involved in the night’s events surrounding Naruto and the Scroll of Seals, then prepared for graduation and her genin registration. At the student hall, she arrived for Hiruzen Sarutobi’s guidance and saw Sasuke inside, looking down on the Hyuga Clan.

• Hinata stayed home after Hyuga Hiashi warned her not to go out that night, suspecting the Scroll of Seals incident had been carefully orchestrated.
• After a restless night, Hinata got up with dark circles and went to have her photograph taken before completing her genin registration.
• Hinata collected her photograph and privately decided not to let anyone else have it.
• At the student hall, Hinata saw Sasuke answering Hiruzen Sarutobi’s questions and thinking that the Hyuga Clan was inferior to the Uchiha Clan.

Hinata completed her interview with Hiruzen Sarutobi, who assessed her suitability to inherit the Will of Fire and tested her priorities as a future ninja. She left excited for the next day’s graduation briefing, where she expected to witness Sasuke and Naruto kiss.

• Hinata handed Hiruzen Sarutobi her information file and nervously sat through his assessment and questions.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked whether Hinata would save an injured companion or complete an important mission, and she recognized it as the decisive question.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Hinata to return to class the next morning for the graduation briefing.
• Hinata decided she would not miss the briefing because she expected Sasuke and Naruto to share a passionate kiss.
• Hinata hummed her self-composed “Song of the Hokage” as she left.

Hinata watched the students’ graduation-day antics, including Naruto and Sasuke’s accidental kiss, while enjoying chips. Hiruzen assigned Kakashi to Naruto’s class and revealed Sasuke among its students.

• Hinata met Kiba and Akamaru on the way to the ninja orientation.
• Hinata borrowed barbecue chips from Choji and watched Sakura and Ino arrive before Naruto and Sasuke kissed during their commotion.
• Hinata checked on Naruto after the girls beat him, and he sprang up, prompting them to turn on him again.
• Hiruzen and the jonin observed the classroom through a crystal ball, and Hiruzen assigned Kakashi to Naruto’s class.
• The crystal ball showed Sasuke as Hiruzen discussed the class assignment.

Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame learned they had been assigned to Team 8 and wondered who their Guiding Jonin would be. Kurenai Yuhi collected them from the Ninja Academy and brought them to a rooftop, where she began addressing the team.

• Iruka announced the class assignments, placing Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame together on Team 8.
• Over lunch, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame speculated that their team would have a reconnaissance-focused or especially powerful Guiding Jonin.
• Hinata said she hoped their Guiding Jonin would be a woman, and Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame later realized she had guessed correctly.
• Kurenai Yuhi arrived at the classroom and called Team 8 to follow her.
• Kurenai Yuhi led Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame to the top of a tall building and said she was happy to become their Guiding Jonin.

Kurenai Yuhi challenged Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame to meet her at Training Ground 18, while the three genin agreed to prepare and face her together. Afterward, Kurenai joined Kakashi, Asuma Sarutobi, and Might Guy and asked how their students were doing.

• Kurenai Yuhi introduced herself, then told Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame to meet her at Training Ground 18 at nine the next morning or be counted as having given up.
• Hinata refused to give up, and Kiba and Shino agreed to make a battle plan rather than face Kurenai blindly.
• Kiba proposed that the three promise not to abandon one another, and Hinata and Shino joined hands with him.
• Hinata set aside her plan to win by talking because her teammates were eager to fight together.
• Kurenai went to a private room where Kakashi, Asuma Sarutobi, and Might Guy were waiting, then asked Kakashi and Asuma how their students were doing.

Kurenai Yuhi discussed her students with Asuma and Kakashi, then secretly watched Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame prepare a plan for their survival exercise. The exercise began when Kurenai appeared at the training ground and greeted them.

• Asuma complained that the Nara Clan student was too clever, while Kakashi and Kurenai Yuhi discussed the troublesome children in their classes.
• Kurenai Yuhi decided she would go easy on Hinata during the survival exercise, and Asuma worried about his own students.
• Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame met at Konoha Training Ground No. 18 and discussed how to recognize and dispel Genjutsu.
• The three students devised a battle plan while Kurenai Yuhi watched them from a tree without interrupting.
• Kurenai Yuhi used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before the students, and Kiba Inuzuka said they were ready.

Kurenai Yuhi explained the bell test and began fighting Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. The team coordinated an attack using Shino’s insects and Hinata’s Byakugan, while Kiba and Akamaru pressed Kurenai with their spinning Fang attacks.

• Kurenai Yuhi set a three-hour test in which the three students had to take one of her two bells, warning that the first she caught would miss lunch.
• At nine, Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame began the test and worked out a plan with Kiba attacking, Shino supporting, and Hinata spotting targets.
• Shino sent Kikaichū after Kurenai Yuhi, who used the Substitution Technique and appeared where Shino had been.
• Hinata identified Kurenai Yuhi’s clone and spotted her hidden position, allowing Kiba to redirect his attack toward the real Kurenai Yuhi.
• Kiba and Akamaru used Beast Human Clone and launched twin Fang Rotating Fang attacks, which Kurenai Yuhi evaded.

Kurenai Yuhi used Genjutsu to defeat Kiba and trap Shino while pursuing Hinata. With both teammates incapacitated, she turned her attention to Hinata.

• Kurenai Yuhi struck Akamaru down, and Kiba charged at her in anger.
• Kurenai trapped Kiba in the Hell Viewing Technique, making him see his greatest fear.
• Kurenai pursued Hinata while Shino left cover to rescue Kiba.
• Kurenai secretly returned and caught Shino in the Tree Binding Technique, explaining that his strength was too far below hers to break free.
• Kurenai turned her attention back to Hinata.

Hinata used traps and a self-inflicted wound to outwit Kurenai Yuhi and seize the bells without revealing her true strength. After Kurenai Yuhi confirmed the survival trial was over, she asked Hinata who would receive the other bell.

• Hinata accepted the system mission to seize the bells without letting Kurenai Yuhi see her true strength, or lose two learned ninjutsu.
• Hinata attacked Kurenai Yuhi with kunai and shuriken, then lured her into a field of Explosive Tags.
• Kurenai Yuhi dodged the first explosion and tried to catch Hinata in Genjutsu.
• Hinata broke the Genjutsu by stabbing herself with a Kunai and snatched all the bells from Kurenai Yuhi's waist.
• Kurenai Yuhi confirmed the trial was over and told Hinata that Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame were unharmed.
• Kurenai Yuhi asked Hinata who she planned to give the other bell to.

Hinata returned the bells to Kurenai Yuhi rather than let them divide her team, and Kurenai revealed that the survival trial tested their loyalty to one another. Kurenai declared Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame true ninja, and Akamaru woke to celebrate with Kiba.

• Kurenai Yuhi dispelled the Genjutsu on Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, and Hinata untied them.
• Kurenai Yuhi explained that Hinata had taken two bells, while Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame questioned how she had managed it.
• Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame each refused to take a bell, and Hinata returned both bells to Kurenai Yuhi, citing their promise not to abandon anyone.
• Kurenai Yuhi asked whether they would accept the bells for free, and Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame refused to let a bell come before their bond.
• Kurenai Yuhi announced that all three had passed because the trial tested their understanding of their companions, and Akamaru woke and barked from Kiba Inuzuka's clothes.

Hinata joined Kurenai Yuhi’s team and surprised everyone with her enormous appetite at a celebratory meal. Kurenai arranged for the team to meet the Hokage the next day to collect their ninja IDs and receive their first mission.

• Hinata regretted being assigned to a team with Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, then accepted Kurenai Yuhi’s offer to treat them to a meal.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the team through a crystal ball and defended the need for young ninjas to endure hardship.
• Hinata ate so much that Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Kurenai Yuhi were stunned, and Kurenai ordered another serving.
• Shino Aburame realized Hinata had likely been eating the food that had mysteriously disappeared during their past meals.
• Kurenai Yuhi told Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame to meet the Hokage the next day to collect their ninja IDs and receive their first mission.
• Hinata asked whether Kurenai Yuhi would treat them again, and Kurenai insisted that ninjas could not live only to satisfy their appetites.