Chapter Summaries

Hyuga Seisen led Sarutobi Asuma, Genma Shiranui, Mitarashi Anko, and Ebisu in a raid on a Kumogakure base, destroying its sentries, alarms, and supply warehouses. As the team retreated, Kumogakure forces pursued them, and Hyuga Seisen and the others fought while hiding their true abilities.

• Hyuga Seisen gave the team unstable Giant Explosive Tags and assigned them to sabotage the base’s armory and supply warehouses within three minutes of his signal.
• Hyuga Seisen silently eliminated all eight hidden sentries, disabled the alarm system, and signaled the others to begin their mission.
• Sarutobi Asuma and Genma Shiranui planted tags in the armory while Mitarashi Anko and Ebisu sabotaged the Soldier Pill and explosive tag warehouses.
• After the team began retreating, Hyuga Seisen set off the tags, igniting the warehouses and plunging the Kumogakure base into chaos.
• The Kumogakure captain identified the fleeing Konoha ninja and led a pursuit, while Hyuga Seisen faced the captain and another jonin and the other Kumogakure ninja attacked his teammates.

Hyuga Seisen and his team escaped a Kumogakure patrol after disguising themselves as Konoha ninja, leading the Kumogakure captain to suspect Iwagakure was behind the supply depot attack. As they neared their main camp, a bandaged man emerged and confronted Hyuga Seisen.

• Hyuga Seisen revealed Iwagakure Earth Release and taijutsu, then used a dust cloud to help Asuma Sarutobi, Anko Mitarashi, Ebisu, and Genma Shiranui escape.
• The Kumogakure captain examined the apparent Konoha corpses and concluded that Iwagakure ninja had disguised themselves as Konoha and attacked the supply depot.
• Hyuga Seisen and the others dispelled their disguises in a hidden cave and headed back toward the main camp.
• Anko Mitarashi pressed Hyuga Seisen to teach her ninjutsu, and he gave her a C-rank technique to quiet her.
• A bandaged man stepped out onto the road, recognized Hyuga Seisen, and said he had been waiting for him.

Shimura Danzō confronted Hyuga Seisen, recited his achievements, and offered him a place in the ANBU, but Seisen challenged the way Danzō had made the invitation. The scene ended as charred kikaichū began falling from the night sky.

• Shimura Danzō stepped out onto the road and listed Hyuga Seisen’s accomplishments to the assembled group.
• Hyuga Seisen responded coolly, and Danzō introduced himself as the Hokage’s advisor and leader of the ANBU.
• Shimura Danzō invited Hyuga Seisen to join the ANBU, impressing Genma Shiranui and Ebisu.
• Hyuga Seisen objected that Danzō’s approach was not a proper way to make an invitation.
• Charred kikaichū fell from the sky onto the group.

Hyuga Seisen rejected Shimura Danzō’s offer to join Root and stopped a Root shinobi from attacking Sarutobi Asuma, then confronted Danzō over his subordinate’s behavior. When Danzō tried to touch Seisen’s shoulder, Seisen caught his wrist and suppressed the sealing runes that appeared on Danzō’s hand.

• Aburame Ryoma emerged from hiding after Danzō ordered him to stand down, and Seisen explained that the Hokage had already rejected his ANBU application.
• Danzō offered Seisen a place in his unit, but Asuma warned him that Danzō commanded Root.
• A Root shinobi lunged at Asuma, and Seisen grabbed him, slammed him into the ground, and threw him into a tree.
• Seisen told Danzō he could not keep his subordinates in line, and Danzō suppressed his anger.
• Danzō reached toward Seisen’s shoulder, but Seisen seized his wrist and used blue chakra to make the runes on Danzō’s hand fade.

Hyuga Seisen rejected Shimura Danzō’s attempt to recruit him into ANBU and exposed Danzō’s effort to use a curse seal. After Danzō ordered Aburame Ryoma to attack, Seisen unleashed a powerful Fire Release that shocked them both.

• Hyuga Seisen seized Shimura Danzō’s wrist and used the Gentle Fist to suppress the curse seal and sever chakra flow in his hand.
• Shimura Danzō accused Seisen of breaking village rules and threatened to execute him unless he joined ANBU, but Seisen refused and challenged Danzō’s authority.
• Shimura Danzō ordered Aburame Ryoma to attack Seisen with a massive swarm of Kikaichū, while Seisen told Asuma and the others to retreat.
• Hyuga Seisen countered the swarm with Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame, then intensified the flames until they blazed white.
• Aburame Ryoma and Shimura Danzō were shocked by Seisen’s Fire Release mastery, and Danzō resolved that Root had to bring him under control.

Hyuga Seisen fought off Danzo’s Root assassins and faced a standoff with Danzo, who wanted him to join Root. Minato Namikaze arrived to protect Seisen, forcing Danzo to withdraw, but Danzo left him with a pointed question about the Hyuga clan.

• Hyuga Seisen burned through the Aburame insects and used Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation to repel two Root assassins.
• More than a dozen Root ninja surrounded the clearing as Shimura Danzō demanded that Seisen join Root.
• Minato Namikaze arrived and challenged Danzo’s claim that Seisen was under his authority, and Seisen confirmed he had never been Danzo’s subordinate.
• Danzo withdrew with his Root ninja after Minato intervened, then asked Seisen why the Hyuga main family barred the branch family from learning ninjutsu beyond Gentle Fist.

Hyuga Seisen and his team returned to Konoha’s main camp after confronting Danzō, and Minato reassured Seisen while warning him not to let Danzō’s words take root. Seisen reported Iwagakure’s scheme to frame Konoha, while new evidence convinced the Third Raikage that Ōnoki had also attacked Kumogakure.

• Danzō told Hyuga Seisen that the Hyuga main family restricted branch-family ninjutsu because some techniques could reach beyond the Caged Bird’s activation range.
• Minato checked on Seisen and the others, praised Seisen, and urged him not to let Danzō’s words affect him.
• Seisen and his teammates reported that Iwagakure ninja had disguised themselves as Konoha ninja and tried to frame Konoha by attacking a Kumogakure warehouse.
• Minato said Seisen’s actions would make Kumogakure suspicious of other framing attempts and promised to report his performance to the Hokage.
• The Third Raikage learned that attackers in Konoha uniforms had used Iwagakure techniques to strike a relay station and accused Ōnoki of betraying Kumogakure.
• The Third Raikage ordered a letter demanding an explanation from Ōnoki and instructed his subordinates to send the attackers’ corpses to Iwagakure.

Ōnoki suspected Konoha had manipulated the clash between Kumogakure and Iwagakure, while Hyuga Seisen reviewed the rewards he had gained, including Fire Release Mastery. At Konoha’s camp, Hyuga Ryosuke stunned Hyuga Himon by using Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and said he had comprehended it through battle with Seisen.

• Ōnoki angrily questioned the Third Eastern Patrol Squad’s actions and suspected Konoha was behind the incident.
• Hyuga Seisen reviewed his new ninjutsu, Fire Release Mastery emblem, and Energy Crystals.
• Hyuga Ryosuke sparred with Hyuga Himon and showed unusually strong Gentle Fist skills.
• Hyuga Ryosuke used Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, leaving Hyuga Himon shocked.
• Hyuga Ryosuke said he had comprehended the technique through battle with Seisen.

Hyuga Ryosuke defended his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms as a lesson from Hyuga Seisen, but Hyuga Himon exposed its flaws and condemned Seisen’s methods. Seisen appeared and began demonstrating his own Gentle Fist against Himon, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Hyuga Ryosuke said Hyuga Seisen had taught him the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and Hyuga Himon rejected the claim.
• Hyuga Himon attacked Ryosuke while identifying flaws in his technique and defeated him, calling Seisen’s approach a heretical path.
• Hyuga Seisen arrived and challenged Himon’s accusation that he had betrayed the Gentle Fist.
• Hyuga Himon launched Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms at Seisen, who used his Byakugan to deflect the attack and numb Himon’s arm.
• Seisen dodged Himon’s follow-up strike and hit him at the waist as the fight continued.

Hyuga Seisen defeated Hyuga Himon and explained that true Gentle Fist depended on precise chakra control rather than rigidly copying orthodox forms. Left alone in the training ground, Himon recognized the flaws in his own technique and saw his long-held faith in the main family's teachings collapse.

• Hyuga Seisen exposed flaws in Hyuga Himon's Eight Trigrams Palm and called his rigid technique "Dead Fist."
• Seisen demonstrated how precise chakra control could suppress Himon's chakra, then told Hyuga Ryosuke that seeking efficient chakra use was the right path.
• Seisen left the training ground, and Ryosuke followed him, leaving Himon behind.
• Himon repeated his opening stance and discovered that the chakra waste, wrist stiffness, and unstable balance Seisen had described were real.
• Himon collapsed, questioning the orthodox teachings he had followed and realizing his Gentle Fist had been clumsy imitation.

Hyuga Himon confronted his shame over defending the Gentle Fist and the main family, then heard that Hyuga Zetsu was arriving at the frontline to claim easy credit. When Zetsu arrived, he demanded a safe mission and decided to lead branch family ninjas himself, but rejected the patrol assignment he was given.

• Hyuga Himon regretted dismissing Seisen's unconventional ideas about the Gentle Fist and realized he had been a fool.
• Branch family ninjas told Hyuga Himon that Hyuga Zetsu was coming to the front to pad his record, deepening Himon's doubts about the main family.
• Hyuga Zetsu arrived at Konoha's headquarters and ordered Suzuki Shinji to arrange a safe, respectable mission.
• After learning Seisen's team had been sent on an S-rank reconnaissance mission, Hyuga Zetsu disparaged him and vowed to lead idle branch family members.
• Hyuga Zetsu rejected the eastern third district patrol mission as too boring.

Hyuga Zetsu led a group of branch family ninjas into an ambush at Black Wind Valley despite Hyuga Himon’s warning. After they retreated, Zetsu activated Hyuga Ryosuke’s Caged Bird curse mark, leaving Himon and the others furious and disillusioned with the main family.

• Hyuga Zetsu dismissed Suzuki Shinji’s warnings and ordered the group to clear Kumogakure forces from Black Wind Valley.
• Hyuga Himon spotted lead plates in the cliffs and warned that they might be surrounded, but Zetsu ignored him.
• Kumogakure ninjas ambushed the group with kunai, wounding two branch family members and forcing them to retreat.
• Hyuga Ryosuke fell behind with a badly injured leg, and Zetsu used the Caged Bird curse mark to torture him.
• Hyuga Himon and the other branch family ninjas watched Ryosuke convulse and felt humiliation and fury toward the main family.

Hyuga Seisen returned to Konoha's main camp and learned how Hyuga Zetsu had tortured Hyuga Ryosuke, prompting him to speak of resisting the main family. When Zetsu tried to punish Seisen with the Caged Bird, the curse mark failed to activate, leaving everyone stunned.

• Hyuga Seisen returned to camp and examined Hyuga Ryosuke, who recounted how Hyuga Zetsu had abused and tortured him with the Caged Bird.
• Hyuga Seisen asked Ryosuke whether he remembered their discussion of freedom, but Ryosuke feared that resisting the main family would endanger their relatives.
• Hyuga Zetsu arrived with main family guards and ordered Seisen to return to the village for an elders' interrogation.
• Hyuga Seisen refused to obey Zetsu, saying he followed the front line's supreme commander and would answer to the elders after reporting to Lord Minato.
• Hyuga Zetsu activated the Caged Bird twice, but the curse mark did not affect Seisen, leaving Zetsu and the branch family ninjas shocked.

Hyuga Seisen defeated Hyuga Zetsu’s guards and countered his Twin Lion Fists with a precise chakra technique. He left Zetsu helpless, held by the throat in front of the gathered branch family ninja.

• Hyuga Zetsu failed to activate the Caged Bird on Hyuga Seisen, then ordered the branch family ninja to attack him, but none obeyed.
• Hyuga Zetsu sent two main family guards after Seisen, and Seisen knocked them both down with a single straight punch each.
• Hyuga Zetsu mocked Seisen for using Strong Fist and unleashed the Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists.
• Seisen called the technique form without substance and dispersed its chakra lions with a storm of chakra needles.
• Seisen grabbed Zetsu by the throat, lifted him off the ground, and questioned whether his guards had truly gone all out when they trained with him.

Hyuga Seisen confronted Hyuga Zetsu over the main family’s abuse of the branch family, but the branch family members still feared standing against their clan’s authority. After Hyuga Zetsu provoked them by calling the Caged Bird a dog leash, Seisen and his Shadow Clone prepared to put a leash on him.

• Hyuga Seisen held Hyuga Zetsu by the throat and accused him of exploiting the branch family while avoiding real combat.
• Hyuga Seisen asked Hyuga Ryosuke and the other branch family members whether they would accept the main family’s treatment, but they lowered their heads and stayed silent.
• Hyuga Zetsu taunted the branch family members, boasting that the Caged Bird curse seal would make them return obediently, and his words reignited their anger.
• Hyuga Seisen decided to keep Hyuga Zetsu alive because the widening rift between the main and branch families would help him build support.
• Hyuga Zetsu threatened to put the Caged Bird leash back on Hyuga Seisen, so Seisen summoned a Shadow Clone and said they would try a dog leash on him.

Hyuga Ryosuke, Hyuga Himon, and Hyuga Zetsu’s two guards helped Hyuga Seisen restrain Hyuga Zetsu so Seisen could mark him with the Caged Bird curse mark. After silencing Zetsu, Seisen ordered his Shadow Clone to begin the procedure.

• Hyuga Ryosuke pinned down Hyuga Zetsu and declared that he was betting his life on Hyuga Seisen.
• Hyuga Himon joined Ryosuke in restraining Zetsu, saying he was not afraid.
• Hyuga Go and Hyuga Shin turned against Zetsu, grabbed his legs, and helped hold him down.
• Hyuga Seisen prepared to apply the Caged Bird curse mark as some branch family ninjas hesitated to join in.
• Hyuga Zetsu begged for mercy, but Hyuga Seisen had his Shadow Clone silence him with a chakra needle.
• Hyuga Seisen told the Shadow Clone to proceed, and it formed the special chakra needed for the curse mark.

Hyuga Seisen branded Hyuga Zetsu with a hidden curse mark and surgically created a one-degree blind spot in his Byakugan. He revealed that Zetsu's modified Caged Bird mark had a unique activation frequency, leaving him unable to rely on the main family to undo it.

• Hyuga Seisen inscribed a hidden X-shaped curse mark on Hyuga Zetsu's forehead while Hyuga Ryosuke, Hyuga Go, and Hyuga Shin restrained him.
• Hyuga Seisen used a chakra scalpel to create a one-degree blind spot at the left edge of Hyuga Zetsu's vision.
• Hyuga Seisen activated the modified curse mark, making Hyuga Zetsu writhe in pain, while his Shadow Clone sealed the barracks with a soundproof barrier.
• Hyuga Seisen told Hyuga Zetsu that the curse mark's activation frequency was unique and that the main family would not be able to remove it.

Hyuga Seisen threatened Hyuga Zetsu with the spread of the Caged Bird activation method, then taught Hyuga Go and Hyuga Shin how to use it. The brothers successfully made Hyuga Zetsu writhe in pain, turning the main-family heir’s curse mark against him.

• Hyuga Seisen warned Hyuga Zetsu that any harm to the branch family youths or their relatives would lead him to spread the curse mark’s activation method throughout the clan.
• Hyuga Seisen offered Hyuga Go and Hyuga Shin the chance to learn how to control Hyuga Zetsu, and they accepted.
• Hyuga Seisen explained the modified curse mark and demonstrated the hand seal that activated it.
• Hyuga Shin used the seal to make Hyuga Zetsu scream in pain, and Hyuga Go soon succeeded as well.
• Hyuga Go continued activating the curse mark while Hyuga Zetsu begged them to stop.

Hyuga Seisen stopped Hyuga Go and Hyuga Shin from tormenting Hyuga Zetsu further, then sent him back to the main family under their watch. He explained to Hyuga Ryosuke why Zetsu would keep their revolt secret and hinted that the main family’s Caged Bird might not work, offering to take control of Ryosuke’s mark.

• Hyuga Go and Hyuga Shin activated Hyuga Zetsu’s curse mark until Hyuga Seisen ordered them to stop.
• Hyuga Seisen sent Hyuga Zetsu back to the main family and told him that Hyuga Go and Hyuga Shin would follow as his guards.
• Hyuga Ryosuke questioned whether Hyuga Zetsu might retaliate, while the other branch family members promised to keep the incident secret.
• Hyuga Seisen told Hyuga Ryosuke that fear of the threat hanging over him would make Hyuga Zetsu protect their secret and possibly inform on the main family.
• Hyuga Seisen said the main family’s curse mark might not work and offered to take control of Hyuga Ryosuke’s Caged Bird.

Hyuga Seisen explained that the Branch Family’s Byakugan blind spot came from deliberately severed optic nerves that left them unable to sense the chakra signal activating Caged Bird. He offered to reconnect the nerves, giving them a way to detect and resist the curse, and asked which of them would undergo the procedure first.

• Hyuga Ryosuke asked whether the Main Family could still use Caged Bird against them, and Hyuga Seisen warned that the answer was not simple.
• Hyuga Seisen revealed that the Main Family had deliberately severed part of the Branch Family’s optic nerves, hiding the surgical damage in their Byakugan blind spot.
• Hyuga Seisen explained that reconnecting the nerves required exceptional precision and healing skill, then said he could perform the repair.
• Hyuga Seisen cautioned that the repair would only let them detect and defend against Caged Bird while their Byakugan was active, but promised to eventually destroy the curse mark itself.
• Hyuga Seisen prepared his medical instruments and asked Hyuga Ryosuke, Hyuga Himon, Hyuga Go, and Hyuga Shin who would go first.