Chapter Summaries

Neji Hyuga overwhelmed members of the Hyuga Main Family while Naruto, Second Pillar, and Kakashi watched in shock. Hyuga Qingmo revealed that the Branch Family’s Caged Bird marks had been erased, then blocked Sarutobi Asuma from intervening and accused Konoha’s authorities of ignoring Neji’s mother’s abuse.

• Naruto recognized Neji Hyuga and wondered whether the Nine-Tails could defeat him, while Second Pillar feared Neji’s strength and Sakura vomited at the bloody scene.
• Kakashi questioned how Neji had escaped the Caged Bird seal as Hyuga Changwen tried to rush into the Eight Trigrams Array Diagram.
• Hyuga Qingmo blocked Hyuga Changwen and revealed that his Caged Bird mark had been erased, freeing the Branch Family from the Main House’s control.
• Sarutobi Asuma stepped forward to stop Neji, but Hyuga Qingmo barred his way and condemned him for failing to protect Neji’s mother from the Main House.

Hyuga Qing Mo defended Neji as Sarutobi Asuma and Hyuga Changwen tried to stop him, but Neji’s vast Gentle Fist domain kept them from reaching the Main House. Kakashi stopped Changwen from using Neji’s dying mother against him, Might Guy arrived, and Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that the Hyuga Branch Family had resisted the Main House and grew increasingly uneasy.

• Sarutobi Asuma argued that Neji and his mother deserved punishment for defying the Hyuga Main House, while Hyuga Qing Mo defended Neji.
• Hyuga Changwen and a companion tried to enter Neji’s Eight Trigrams Array Diagram, but Neji’s Gentle Fist struck the companion and sent him flying.
• Hyuga Changwen moved to seize Neji’s mother, but Kakashi Hatake stopped him as Sarutobi Asuma kept Hyuga Qing Mo occupied.
• Might Guy arrived and asked Neji how the situation had escalated.
• An Anbu ninja reported the events at the Hyuga compound to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who learned that Asuma had already entered with his men and feared the clan’s growing unrest.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō mobilized Konoha forces after learning Neji Hyuga had found a way to remove the Caged Bird and was fighting the Hyuga Main Family. At the Eight Trigrams Array Diagram, Hiruzen demanded an explanation from Kakashi and Might Guy for obstructing Sarutobi Asuma.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the Anbu to gather reinforcements and summon Shimura Danzō and the Sarutobi Police Force to the Hyuga Clan Grounds.
• Shimura Danzō told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Neji Hyuga had found a way to remove the Caged Bird and was behind the disturbance.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō agreed to support the Hyuga Main Family and deal with Neji according to Konoha's rules.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi led the assembled forces into the Hyuga Clan Grounds, where branch family members watched them pass in silence.
• Sarutobi Asuma accused Neji Hyuga of unforgivable crimes and said Kakashi and the others were obstructing him, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to demand an explanation from Kakashi and Might Guy.

Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted Neji Hyuga over his torture of the Hyuga Main Family, while Kakashi and Might Guy opposed Konoha interfering with Neji's mother's body. When Neji rejected Hiruzen's warning and blamed Konoha for ignoring his mother's abuse, Hiruzen ordered the Anbu to seal him inside the Eight Trigrams Array Diagram.

• Kakashi and Might Guy objected to anyone touching Neji's dead mother, and Might Guy privately hoped Neji could escape Konoha.
• Sarutobi Asuma warned Sarutobi Hiruzen that the Eight Trigrams Array Diagram was dangerous, and Hiruzen entered its space but was forced back by its attacks.
• Neji Hyuga continued tormenting the Hyuga Main Family members and told the Eighth Elder that he was their divine punishment.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Neji to stop and offered leniency, but Neji blamed Konoha for failing to protect his mother and told Hiruzen to leave.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered the Anbu ninja to use the Crimson Flame Barrier, and they began sealing the Eight Trigrams Array Diagram.

Neji continued torturing the Hyuga Main Family while Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō organized an assault to capture him. The attackers failed to break Neji’s Eight Trigrams Formation, so Hiruzen summoned Enma and called for the Adamantine Extending Staff.

• The Anbu stabilized the Four Red Yang Formation around Neji’s Eight Trigrams Array, but Neji kept torturing the Eighth Elder and threatened Hyuga Sosuke.
• The Eighth Elder begged Sarutobi Hiruzen to capture Neji, and Hiruzen agreed to use force after Danzō negotiated for Root to take custody of him.
• Dozens of Root ninja joined the Sarutobi Clan’s elites and Anbu in attacking Neji’s Eight Trigrams Formation with ninjutsu.
• The Eight Trigrams Formation withstood the combined assault, so Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Enma and requested the Adamantine Extending Staff.

Neji was pressed by Sarutobi Hiruzen and the assembled ninja, forcing him to consider opening the Eight Gates Formation. Kakashi and Might Guy feared Neji had decided to fight to the death as the battle continued.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Enma, who transformed into the As You Wish Iron Staff and pierced Neji’s Eight Trigrams Formation.
• Neji blocked the extending staff with a staff formed from his Bone Blades, but the clash weakened his formation and left him vulnerable to the other ninja’s attacks.
• The enemy ninja coordinated powerful ninjutsu against Neji, who realized he needed to defeat Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly to avoid being worn down.
• As Neji’s blue aura intensified, Might Guy and Kakashi recognized that he was preparing to use the Eight Gates Formation.
• Might Guy urged Kakashi to help Neji, but Kakashi feared Neji had already resolved to die.

Neji faced capture by Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō while Might Guy and Kakashi watched, but Deidara, Kimimaro, and Jugo arrived to help him. They challenged Konoha’s forces and declared themselves members of Zhatian, though their leader had not yet given them titles.

• Might Guy worried that Neji was ready to die, while Kakashi assured him someone would rescue Neji if he was captured.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen urged the ninjas to break Neji’s Eight Trigrams Formation as he and Neji struggled against each other.
• Deidara, Kimimaro, and Jugo arrived on a Flying Bird after Owuya Bai warned them that Neji was in danger.
• Jugo hurled Samehada down, Kimimaro’s Bone Spikes forced attackers back, and Deidara’s Clay Birds exploded among the ninjas besieging Neji.
• Deidara confronted Konoha’s forces, and Kimimaro said they were members of Zhatian whose leader had not yet granted them titles.

Deidara, Jugo, and Kimimaro declared themselves Akatsuki Organization members and stood between Neji and Konoha’s forces. As tensions rose toward a fight, Neji urged them to leave so they would not be endangered by his conflict.

• Deidara confirmed that he, Jugo, and Kimimaro belonged to the Akatsuki Organization and warned that no one would touch Neji.
• Jugo and Kimimaro stepped forward to back Deidara, while Kakashi wondered whether Xuanyu had arranged their appearance.
• Deidara told Konoha’s ninja to clear the field, prompting Sarutobi Asuma to prepare an attack before Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped him.
• Neji, moved by their support, fought back against Sarutobi Hiruzen and shouted for Deidara and the others to leave.

Deidara, Jugo, and Kimimaro intervened at the Hyuga Clan grounds, where Jugo shattered the Four Red Flame Formation and Deidara threatened Konoha’s leaders with explosive clay birds. The chapter left Hyuga Hiashi arriving at the village entrance and asking what had happened at the clan grounds.

• Deidara told Neji to leave the situation to him and ordered Jugo to break the Four Red Flame Formation.
• Jugo smashed the barrier with one punch, injuring the eight ninja maintaining it and silencing the onlookers.
• Kimimaro redirected the Extending Staff, which destroyed several Hyuga Clan buildings before reverting to Enma.
• The Nine-Tails recognized Xuan Yu’s aura on Deidara and his companions, while Naruto and Sasuke reacted to their strength.
• Deidara ordered everyone to leave the Hyuga Clan grounds and threatened to send explosive clay birds over the clans of Konoha’s leaders.
• Hyuga Hiashi returned to Konoha and hurried toward the clan grounds, asking what had happened.

Deidara rejected Sarutobi Hiruzen’s threats and warned Konoha not to target the Uchiha Clan, then demonstrated the explosive danger of his Little White Spiders. The spiders advanced again as Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto retreated.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to restrain Deidara by invoking Ōnoki and the threat of war, but Deidara said the Land of Earth no longer concerned him.
• Shimura Danzō threatened the Uchiha Clan, and Deidara warned that attacking them would bring the Akatsuki Organization’s retaliation.
• Deidara released Little White Spiders across the ground, and Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō became concerned about the Uchiha Clan’s ties to the Akatsuki Organization.
• Sarutobi Asuma cut several spiders with a Wind Blade, causing them to explode and injure him before Sarutobi Hiruzen caught him.
• As the spiders crawled forward again, Kakashi led Sakura away while Sasuke and Naruto also retreated.

Neji held the Hyuga Main House members captive and prepared to kill them while Deidara kept others away with explosive spiders. Hyuga Hiashi arrived and learned that Neji's Mother had been tortured to death, leaving him shocked and unable to stop Neji.

• Deidara ordered everyone to clear the field and threatened them with his explosive spiders as Sarutobi Hiruzen's forces hesitated.
• The Hyuga Clan's Eighth Elder feared Neji would continue tormenting him and worried about his grandson.
• Hyuga Hiashi arrived and tried to enter the Eight Trigrams Formation, but Deidara's spiders forced him to stop.
• Neji confronted Hyuga Hiashi with anger and rejected his appeal to spare the Main House members for his father's sake.
• Hyuga Hiashi urged Neji to think of his mother, and Neji revealed that these people had tortured her to death.
• Neji's red Chakra surged as his Byakugan changed, while Hyuga Hiashi stared at him in shock and confusion.

After learning that the Main House had tortured Neji’s mother to death, Hyuga Hiashi discovered that the Caged Bird could be removed but failed to stop Neji from seeking revenge. Deidara and his allies drove Sarutobi Hiruzen and Konoha’s forces out of the Hyuga grounds, leaving the villagers stunned and Hiruzen humiliated.

• Hyuga Qing Mo told Hyuga Hiashi that the Main House had tortured Neji’s mother to death, and Hiashi learned that the Caged Bird could be removed.
• Hyuga Hiashi pleaded with Neji to spare the Main House members, but Neji refused and continued his revenge.
• Deidara ordered Konoha’s ninjas to leave, and Kakashi led Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura away as the forces retreated from the Hyuga grounds.
• Hyuga clan members and Konoha villagers watched Sarutobi Hiruzen and hundreds of ninjas being forced out by Neji, Deidara, and Hyuga Qing Mo.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to persuade Neji’s friends to stop him, but they ignored Hiruzen and chatted among themselves.

Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to portray Deidara and his allies as threats to Konoha’s civilians, but villagers learned the Flying Bird bomb hovered over the Sarutobi and Shimura clan grounds and began questioning him. As Xuanyu’s group neared Konoha, they discovered something was happening at the Hyuga Clan grounds.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen urged Deidara’s group to stop Neji and claimed they had threatened civilians, while villagers discussed Neji’s reasons for attacking the Hyuga Main Family.
• A villager revealed that Deidara’s Flying Bird bomb circled above the Sarutobi and Shimura clan grounds, undermining Sarutobi Hiruzen’s claim and turning public opinion against him.
• Zhong Kui, disguised among the Anbu, watched the villagers expose Sarutobi Hiruzen’s hypocrisy, while Sarutobi Asuma silenced the crowd with threats.
• Deidara’s group and Sarutobi Hiruzen remained locked in a standoff as screams came from inside the Hyuga Clan grounds.
• Shino Aburame sensed something unusual near Konoha, and Hinata Hyuga used her Byakugan to identify the Hyuga Clan grounds as the location.

Neji slaughtered the Hyuga Main Family after learning they had tortured his mother under the Caged Bird Curse Mark. Xuanyu and Hinata headed back to Konoha, while Neji began torturing Hyuga Sosuke amid the massacre.

• Yuhi Kurenai sensed something strange over the Hyuga Clan Grounds, and Xuanyu said Neji was doing what he needed to do.
• Xuanyu suspected the Main Family had harmed Neji's mother and used his space-time technique to take Hinata back to Konoha.
• Yuhi Kurenai ordered Shino Aburame to hurry back with her, fearing Konoha's order was about to change.
• Neji stood among the injured and dead members of the Hyuga Main Family, while the Eighth Elder and Hyuga Sosuke remained conscious.
• Neji confronted Hyuga Sosuke over his mother's suffering and pierced Sosuke's wrists with Bone Spikes as Sosuke screamed.

Xuanyu arrived as Neji, driven into a frenzy by his mother’s apparent death and the Hyuga Main Family, continued his bloody rampage. Xuanyu used Wood Style Chakra to preserve Neji’s Mother, but Neji attacked Hinata, leaving Xuanyu holding his wrist and urging him to wake up.

• Hyuga Qing Mo asked Neji to grant Zong Jie a quick death, but Neji vowed to make him suffer and continued his rampage.
• Xuanyu and Hinata arrived, and Hyuga Qing Mo explained what had happened.
• Xuanyu used Wood Style Chakra to preserve Neji’s Mother and ordered Hyuga Qing Mo to watch over her.
• Xuanyu led Hinata into the Eight Trigrams Formation, where Neji’s palm strikes hit Xuanyu’s repulsive force.
• Neji mistook Hinata for an enemy and lunged for her throat, but Xuanyu grabbed his wrist and told him it was time to wake up.

Xuanyu restrained Neji Hyuga and repeatedly struck him to weaken his madness, while Deidara and Kimimaro tried to learn what was happening inside the Hyūga Clan Grounds. As the Third Hokage speculated about Neji’s opponent, the Nine-Tails told Naruto that an old acquaintance had arrived.

• Neji Hyuga tried to attack Xuanyu with Bone Blades, but Xuanyu’s barrier shattered them and kept Neji restrained.
• Xuanyu slapped Neji and repeatedly sent him flying, gradually dispersing the blood-red aura in his eyes as Neji kept charging back at him.
• Outside the Hyūga Clan Grounds, Kimimaro used his Byakugan but could not see through the Eight Trigrams Formation, so Deidara sent a Clay Reconnaissance Bird to investigate.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen concluded that someone was fighting Neji, and a nearby ninja wondered whether one of the Konoha Three Ninja had returned.
• The Nine-Tails told Naruto that an old acquaintance had arrived, and Naruto asked who it was.

Xuanyu helped Neji regain his senses after Neji lost control while absorbing Byakugan power from Main House members. After learning Neji had absorbed the power of ten people, Xuanyu began examining his eyes and wondered whether they were evolving.

• The Nine-Tails told Naruto that Xuanyu had arrived to help Neji and was driving away the mysterious Chakra affecting him.
• Xuanyu deflected Neji's attacks until Neji's eyes cleared, then a Clay Bird arrived and Xuanyu sent it to stop the people outside.
• Neji recognized Xuanyu and explained that absorbing energy from the Byakugan of people he pierced with Shikotsumyaku Bone Spikes had made him lose control.
• Neji said he had absorbed the Doujutsu Power of ten people before he could absorb no more.
• Xuanyu examined Neji's eyes with his Chakra, suspected they were evolving, and began growing bone spikes from his own body.

Xuan Yu absorbed the Hyuga Main House members’ Byakugan energy, refining it to strengthen his own eyes and giving Hinata some of the power to help her Byakugan evolve. The Eighth Elder accused Xuan Yu of masterminding the Hyuga clan’s downfall and concluded that he had removed Neji’s Caged Bird seal.

• Xuan Yu used his bone chains to absorb the Byakugan energy from the defeated Main House members, refining its violent aura and strengthening his eyes.
• Xuan Yu pierced Hinata’s shoulder with a bone chain and transferred refined Byakugan energy to her, helping her absorb power from fifteen Hyuga members before she reached saturation.
• Xuan Yu absorbed the remaining eighty-six members’ energy and felt his eyes nearing another evolution.
• The Eighth Elder accused Xuan Yu of hiding his strength and causing the Hyuga clan’s tragedy, but Xuan Yu blamed the Main House’s sins and its attack on Neji’s mother.
• The Eighth Elder realized that Neji’s Caged Bird seal had been removed and accused Xuan Yu of developing the method to undo it.

Xuanyu stopped Neji from continuing to torment the Hyuga elders, revealed that Neji’s mother might still be saved, and led the group in a retreat from the Hyuga Clan Grounds. Konoha’s ninja were left behind as Deidara and his companions flew away.

• Xuanyu taunted the Eighth Elder, and Neji approached him to continue exacting revenge for his mother.
• Xuanyu stopped Neji, warned that Konoha’s ninja were gathering, and ordered the group to take the Hyuga elders with them.
• Xuanyu told Neji that his mother was still alive but needed Owuya Bai to treat her soul injuries, so Neji urged everyone to return quickly.
• Xuanyu used the Bone Chain to bind the elders and his companions, then teleported away with them as the Eight Trigrams Formation vanished.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hyuga Hiashi, and Kakashi recognized Xuanyu’s involvement, while Deidara and his companions boarded Clay Birds and flew away from Konoha.

Xuan Yu and Owuya Bai worked to save Neji's mother, whose soul was near shattering from the Caged Bird Mark. At the Hyuga Clan Grounds, Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated to enter, while Hyuga Hiashi rushed inside after seeing through his Byakugan that Neji had left.

• Xuan Yu brought Neji's mother to Owuya Bai's laboratory, where Owuya Bai found her soul close to scattering and feared removing the Caged Bird Mark would kill her.
• Neji pleaded with Owuya Bai to save his mother, and Xuan Yu offered to stabilize her soul with his Spiritual Soul Body.
• Owuya Bai began imprinting a Refinement Mark on Neji's mother as Xuan Yu stood ready to intervene.
• At the Hyuga Clan Grounds, Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated to enter because he feared an ambush.
• Hyuga Hiashi used his Byakugan to see that Neji had left, then rushed into the grounds.