Chapter Summaries

Hyuga Seisen healed his comrades and built them shelter after the battle, then led them toward the new main camp. The group saw the enormous crater left by his spirit-particle spear, and Uchiha Inaho regarded him with awe.

• Hyuga Seisen treated Hyuga Ryosuke's broken ribs, and Ryosuke became distraught after learning how powerful Seisen had become.
• Hyuga Seisen promised to show Ryosuke Rotation, restoring his spirits.
• Hyuga Seisen raised a stone platform and built furnished stone houses so the injured group could rest.
• Two days later, the group received Orochimaru's orders to head to the new main camp near the Land of Hot Water outpost.
• As they crossed the battlefield, Uchiha Inaho saw the huge crater left by Seisen's spirit-particle spear and felt awe toward him.

Hyuga Seisen met with Orochimaru at the Land of Hot Water outpost and asked for all of Orochimaru’s Caged Bird research materials. Orochimaru offered the materials in exchange for Seisen’s help with a future experiment, leaving Seisen to weigh the dangerous bargain.

• Hyuga Seisen arrived at the outpost with his companions and received a warm welcome because of his battlefield achievements.
• Orochimaru summoned Seisen alone to the command tent and offered him one reward of his choosing.
• Seisen asked Orochimaru for all of his Caged Bird curse mark research materials, and Orochimaru admitted he had studied the mark.
• Orochimaru revealed that Seisen’s blood showed no special bloodline power but that his chakra control and learning talent fascinated him.
• Orochimaru offered the research materials in exchange for Seisen’s help with one future experiment, and Seisen questioned whether he would only need to assist.

Hyuga Seisen refused to become one of Orochimaru’s experimental subjects but accepted a scroll containing information about the Caged Bird. After returning to the barracks, he learned that the Hyuga clan head had sent him a cryptic warning, suggesting an internal clan crisis connected to Seisen.

• Orochimaru asked Hyuga Seisen to provide direct data for his experiments, but Seisen refused and avoided Orochimaru’s attempt to stop him.
• Orochimaru agreed not to force Seisen into experiments and gave him a scroll about the Caged Bird in exchange for Seisen’s help with normal scientific experiments.
• Hyuga Seisen returned to the barracks, told Kakashi and Yuhi Kurenai that his meeting had gone well, and secretly took out Orochimaru’s scroll after they left.
• Hyuga Iroha rushed into the barracks and relayed the clan head’s message to Hyuga Seisen: “When the general is abroad, the sovereign's orders need not be obeyed!”
• Hyuga Seisen concluded that an undisclosed crisis within the clan was likely connected to him.

Hyuga Seisen studied Orochimaru’s findings on the Caged Bird and realized his soul was free of the curse, giving him a way to investigate how to remove it. After Orochimaru was dismissed as commander, Minato Namikaze delivered a summons ordering Seisen to return to the Hyuga Clan, where Hiashi’s warning suggested the elders planned to act against him.

• Hyuga Seisen opened Orochimaru’s sealed scroll and learned that the Caged Bird curse involved the eyes, brain, and soul.
• Hyuga Seisen concluded that his new soul was free of the soul-bound curse and spent seven days studying the Caged Bird technique.
• After clan leaders complained about Orochimaru’s handling of the battle, Hiruzen Sarutobi replaced him with Minato Namikaze and ordered Orochimaru back to Konoha.
• Minato Namikaze gave Hyuga Seisen a summons from Yasushi Hyuga ordering him to return to the clan within five days.
• Hyuga Seisen realized that Hiashi Hyuga’s earlier message had warned him that returning to the clan would lead to trouble.

Seisen Hyuga secured Minato’s protection from the Hyuga Clan’s transfer order and asked him to teach sealing techniques in hopes of breaking the Caged Bird seal. Back in Konoha, Hiashi learned that Yasushi had bypassed him to confront the Hokage and set out to assert his authority as clan head.

• Seisen asked to stay on the battlefield, and Minato appointed him to a special mobile squad under his direct command while keeping the three Hyuga jonin in service.
• Seisen asked Minato to teach him sealing techniques, and Minato gave him scrolls covering basic knowledge, the Yin–Yang Seal, and the Four Symbols Seal.
• Seisen studied sealing techniques over the next few days but could not find Minato to obtain further instruction.
• A branch family ninja told Hiashi that Minato had rejected Seisen’s transfer and that Yasushi had gone to the Hokage Building with two elders without informing him.
• Hiashi struck the table, then went to confront the council of elders and assert his authority as clan head.

Hyuga Hiashi confronted Yasushi Hyuga for acting without his approval, but Yasushi dismissed his authority and Hiashi left with Hyuga Hizashi. Yasushi then went to the rear courtyard and coerced a woman bearing the Caged Bird seal to serve him and bear children for the main family.

• Hyuga Hiashi challenged Yasushi Hyuga for representing the clan and pressuring Lord Hokage without consulting him.
• Yasushi Hyuga asserted that Hiashi owed his position to the elders and questioned whether the clan was his to command.
• Hiashi warned Yasushi that the Hyuga Clan was not his personal domain, then left with Hyuga Hizashi.
• Yasushi Hyuga dismissed the others and entered a room in the rear courtyard, where a frightened woman knelt before him.
• Yasushi ordered the woman to cover her Caged Bird seal and told her to serve him and bear children for the main family.

Hiashi Hyuga raged over Ieyasu’s conduct and resolved to reform the Hyuga Clan, while revealing to Hizashi that Hyuga Seisen had confronted tailed beasts and was likely being secretly protected by Hokage. He left Hizashi to support and guard Seisen’s family, hoping Seisen would help their reform efforts.

• Hiashi Hyuga condemned Ieyasu for abusing branch family members and pressuring Lord Hokage, then told Hizashi Hyuga he was determined to change the clan.
• Hiashi ordered Hizashi to personally look after Hyuga Seisen’s family and revealed that Seisen was stronger than he was.
• Hiashi explained that Seisen had captured the Two-Tails jinchuriki and confronted the Eight-Tails, based on reports from the battlefield.
• Hiashi concluded that Hokage had long concealed and protected Seisen’s abilities, and believed Seisen would support their opposition to Ieyasu.
• Hiashi asked Hizashi to arrange protection for Seisen’s family as a precaution, and Hizashi agreed.

Hiashi Hyuga lamented Yasushi Hyuga’s grip on the clan and promised Hyuga Ayaka he would regain power before they had children, so they would not suffer Hizashi’s fate. At the front lines, Hyuga Seisen continued studying seals with Namikaze Minato and realized the Caged Bird was far more complex than he had thought.

• Hizashi Hyuga left to make arrangements for Hiashi Hyuga without alerting Yasushi’s people.
• Hiashi Hyuga told Hyuga Ayaka that Yasushi had joined forces with the elders to strip him of authority and obstruct his orders.
• Hyuga Ayaka comforted Hiashi Hyuga, who promised to regain control of the clan before they had children and said he wanted to protect them from Hizashi’s tragedy.
• Hyuga Seisen demonstrated the Yin–Yang Seal and Four Symbols Seal to Namikaze Minato, who gave him two more basic seals.
• Hyuga Seisen studied sealing techniques at the front lines and concluded that the Caged Bird was far more complex than he had imagined.

Hyuga Seisen discovered that the Caged Bird curse mark was rooted dangerously deep in his brain, making direct removal likely to kill or cripple him. He devised a plan to shield it from the chakra signal that activated it and brought his proposal to Minato for help.

• Hyuga Seisen used reishi to inspect the Caged Bird curse mark and found its roots entwined with critical nerves in his brain.
• Hyuga Seisen concluded that forcibly removing the curse mark could cause blindness or brain death.
• Hyuga Seisen watched the Yamanaka Clan shinobi establish a sensory barrier and realized the curse mark could be activated through a transmitted chakra signal.
• Hyuga Seisen conceived a precise barrier to isolate the curse mark from its activation signal and prepared a scroll for Minato.
• Hyuga Seisen presented his idea to Minato, who recognized its significance and invited him inside to explain it.

Hyuga Seisen rejected Yasushi Hyuga’s unauthorized order to leave the front line, then rallied Konoha’s allied ninja forces against the attempted transfer. The chapter ended as Hyuga Takeo’s anger erupted after Seisen publicly insulted Yasushi.

• Hyuga Seisen returned to his tent and found Hyuga Takeo, Hyuga Fei, and Hyuga Hikaru rummaging through his belongings.
• Hyuga Takeo presented Yasushi Hyuga’s order demanding Seisen return to the main house, but Seisen pointed out it lacked approval from the Hokage and the clan head.
• Seisen tore the order’s seal and announced to the gathered ninjas that the three men were trying to remove a front-line soldier without proper authorization.
• Seisen argued that abandoning his S-rank mission could endanger Konoha’s defenses and blamed Yasushi for issuing the demand from the rear.
• Hyuga Takeo lost his temper after Seisen publicly insulted Yasushi Hyuga.

Hyuga Seisen provoked Hyuga Takeo and his companions into attacking, then challenged them to fight him together after Takeo tried to justify replacing him. Takeo charged alone, and Seisen unleashed a storm of Gentle Fist chakra needles aimed at his exposed acupoints.

• Hyuga Takeo and two other Hyuga jonin attacked Seisen, but camp patrol shinobi intervened before they could strike.
• Takeo claimed Elder Ieyasu had sent the three jonin to replace Seisen and challenged him to defeat one of them.
• Seisen persuaded the patrol to leave by calling the fight a spar, then invited all three jonin to attack him together.
• Takeo activated his Byakugan and charged Seisen with the Gentle Fist.
• Seisen released countless chakra needles, which Takeo saw were aimed at the 180 exposed acupoints across his front.

Hyuga Seisen defeated Hyuga Takeo with a modified Gentle Fist that sealed his chakra, then calmly fended off Hyuga Fei and Hyuga Hikaru. As the two prepared a combined technique, Hyuga Hikaru's chakra suddenly froze and his body grew heavy.

• Hyuga Seisen struck Hyuga Takeo, shutting down his chakra network and causing him to collapse face-first.
• Hyuga Seisen pinned Hyuga Takeo and defended his altered Gentle Fist as a precise method of sealing chakra, calling the main house's version outdated and decayed.
• Hyuga Fei and Hyuga Hikaru attacked Hyuga Seisen together, but he blocked their strikes without moving his foot from Takeo's back.
• Hyuga Fei and Hyuga Hikaru launched a relentless assault, yet Hyuga Seisen calmly deflected every attack.
• Hyuga Hikaru's chakra suddenly froze and his body became heavy as he prepared to use a combined secret technique with Hyuga Fei.

Hyuga Seisen defeated Hyuga Fei and Hyuga Hikaru by releasing chakra through his arms and detonating the fiery chakra needles he had planted in them. He left the three main family jonin incapacitated and cited Lord Minato’s instruction to keep them alive for Konoha’s battlefield.

• Hyuga Hikaru and Hyuga Fei discovered that Hyuga Seisen had sealed their acupoints with chakra needles that entered through their arm and chest contact with his arms.
• Hyuga Seisen explained that Gentle Fist chakra could be released from any acupoint, prompting Hyuga Fei and Hyuga Hikaru to charge at his throat and heart.
• Hyuga Seisen formed a one-handed seal and detonated the fire-nature chakra needles, destroying the two jonin’s meridians and dropping them beside Hyuga Takeo.
• Hyuga Seisen said he had avoided striking their vital areas because he did not want Konoha to lose two jonin, then revealed Lord Minato had instructed him to keep the three alive for the battlefield.

Half a month after Hyuga Seisen spared the three jonin, he continued studying sealing techniques while the front temporarily quieted. Kurenai asked Yuhi Shinku to train her in genjutsu, and Seisen remained stumped over how to suppress the Caged Bird.

• Hyuga Seisen sent the three defeated jonin to the medical unit, then returned to studying sealing techniques and a way to suppress the Caged Bird.
• Minato fought several inconclusive campaigns against the A-B combo, while newly graduated students were sent to support the front lines and Hyuga Seisen received his forehead protector.
• After a genjutsu failed to stop a Kumogakure ninja during a skirmish, Kurenai asked Yuhi Shinku to teach her the strongest genjutsu of their clan.
• Yuhi Shinku taught Kurenai Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death, and she broke free of his simplified genjutsu by finding and disrupting its chakra core.
• Hyuga Seisen continued investigating how the Caged Bird curse mark could be activated remotely and precisely, but found no way to isolate it.

Hyuga Seisen continued searching for a way to understand the Caged Bird’s activation signal, then received a flood of Valentine’s Day gifts from female shinobi. He mistook their gifts for presents for Yuhi Kurenai, whose reaction changed when he asked if she liked them.

• Hyuga Seisen theorized that the main family activated the Caged Bird through a specialized genjutsu signal that affected the branch family’s brains.
• After another half a month without progress, Hyuga Seisen left his tent to seek fresh air and consider finding advanced genjutsu materials.
• Haruna gave Hyuga Seisen flowers and chocolates for Valentine’s Day, then hurried away.
• Several other female shinobi gave Hyuga Seisen gifts and confessed their feelings as he walked back to his barracks.
• Yuhi Kurenai approached Hyuga Seisen with a gift, but her smile faded when she saw the many bouquets and presents in his arms.
• Hyuga Seisen told Yuhi Kurenai that the gifts were for her and asked whether she liked them.

Yuhi Kurenai mistook Hyuga Seisen’s gifts for someone else’s, but he revealed they were a surprise for her, and the two exchanged presents. After entering his barracks, Kurenai realized he might have spent precious military merit on her gifts and asked him about it.

• Yuhi Kurenai nearly threw away the gift she had prepared when she saw Hyuga Seisen approaching with flowers and presents.
• Hyuga Seisen told Yuhi Kurenai the gifts were for her, and she tearfully gave him the wrapped present she had prepared.
• Hyuga Seisen burned a pink envelope from one bouquet before Yuhi Kurenai could read it, then invited her into his barracks.
• Yuhi Kurenai noticed Hyuga Seisen’s sealing technique drafts and learned he had been studying them without much progress.
• Yuhi Kurenai realized the gifts might have been bought with military merit and asked Hyuga Seisen if he had traded his merit for them.

Yuhi Kurenai gave Hyuga Seisen a scroll of her clan’s genjutsu knowledge after learning he had spent his military merits on gifts for her. Their intimate embrace was interrupted when Kurenai suddenly winced in pain.

• Yuhi Kurenai asked whether Hyuga Seisen had exchanged his military merits for the gifts, and he agreed that he had.
• Worried he could no longer obtain genjutsu materials, Yuhi Kurenai gave Hyuga Seisen a scroll of knowledge passed down through the Yuhi Clan.
• Yuhi Kurenai cried over feeling unable to help him, and Hyuga Seisen reassured her that her support was important to him.
• Hyuga Seisen pulled Yuhi Kurenai into an embrace, and she eventually pushed him away because they were in a military camp.
• Yuhi Kurenai stepped back and suddenly sucked in a sharp breath, her face scrunching up in pain.

Hyuga Seisen persuaded Yuhi Kurenai to let him massage her sore shoulders, claiming that chakra-assisted pressure-point treatment would ease her muscle strain. As he worked, Kurenai gradually relaxed beneath his hands.

• Yuhi Kurenai explained that daily genjutsu training had left her muscles sore.
• Hyuga Seisen offered to massage Kurenai and assured her that his medical-ninja skills would relieve the strain.
• Kurenai blushed but agreed to lie face down on the camp bed, using a pillow for support.
• Seisen massaged Kurenai's shoulders and neck with chakra, and her tension gradually eased.

Hyuga Seisen studied the Yuhi Clan’s genjutsu scroll and worked out how Yin Release chakra could create illusions through spiritual resonance. He realized his understanding might offer a new way to address the Hyuga clan’s Caged Bird, though he still lacked access to one.

• Hyuga Seisen massaged Yuhi Kurenai, and she eventually left the barracks reluctantly as evening approached.
• After Yuhi Kurenai left, Hyuga Seisen examined her scroll and focused on its theory of Yin Release chakra.
• Hyuga Seisen deduced that genjutsu used chakra frequencies to interfere with an opponent’s brain and connect with their spiritual world.
• Hyuga Seisen considered how Sharingan genjutsu could work without hand seals and linked it to the Sharingan’s special Yin Release chakra.
• Hyuga Seisen wondered how he could discover the Caged Bird’s chakra frequency and began reconsidering his approach to the curse mark.

Hyuga Seisen considered how he might decipher and manipulate the Caged Bird cursed seal, while Shimura Danzō learned the truth about Seisen’s battle record and decided to bring him under Root’s control. Danzō explained to Aburame Ryoma that Hiruzen Sarutobi’s succession had not been as straightforward as the official account suggested.

• Hyuga Seisen removed his forehead protector and reasoned that he could interfere with, deceive, or possibly reverse-control the Caged Bird cursed seal by matching its chakra frequency.
• Hyuga Seisen created a Shadow Clone so they could examine the cursed seal problem along two lines of thought.
• Aburame Ryoma delivered Shimura Danzō a covert report revealing that Hyuga Seisen had captured the Two-Tails alive and fought the Eight-Tails head-on.
• Shimura Danzō grew furious that Orochimaru had withheld Seisen’s feats and declared that Seisen should be placed under Root’s control.
• Aburame Ryoma warned that Hiruzen Sarutobi had classified Seisen as an S-rank secret, but Shimura Danzō claimed he could find a way around Hokage’s authority.
• Shimura Danzō asked Aburame Ryoma how Hiruzen became Hokage and questioned whether the proud clans would truly have accepted a handful of defeated young generals.