Chapter Summaries

Xuanyu used his Sharingan genjutsu to make one Kumogakure ninja kill his companion, learned that Kumogakure planned to target the Hyuga Clan as well, and then killed the surviving Chunin. He and Uchiha Hanjō prepared to hide the bodies rather than risk being blamed during peace talks, while Xuanyu kept the unconscious Kishibe Chunin for later use.

• Xuanyu questioned the hypnotized Kumogakure ninja and learned that the kidnapping targeted Uchiha Hanjō for money and his Sharingan, while Kumogakure also planned to target the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.
• Xuanyu ordered the ninja to kill himself, but the Chunin broke free of the genjutsu before he could do so.
• The Kumogakure ninja realized Xuanyu had controlled him into killing his companion and attacked, but Xuanyu disarmed and killed him.
• Uchiha Hanjō praised Xuanyu for defeating two Chunin, and Xuanyu asked for the key to the hospital basement so they could hide the bodies.
• Xuanyu warned Uchiha Hanjō that Konoha's leaders might abandon them during peace talks and said the unconscious Kishibe Chunin would be useful later.

Xuanyu hypnotized Kishibe Chunin into believing he had driven off two Kumogakure ninja who attacked Uchiha Hanjō and Xuanyu, clearing the pair of suspicion. Kakashi Hatake arrived to investigate, then rushed toward the Hyuga Clan after hearing another battle break out there.

• Xuanyu planted a false account of the fight in Kishibe Chunin’s mind and made him believe the two Kumogakure ninja had escaped.
• Kishibe Chunin woke and accepted Xuanyu’s story, then prepared to escort him and Uchiha Hanjō home before reporting the attack.
• Kakashi Hatake arrived, heard Kishibe Chunin’s account, and suspected the attackers were from Kumogakure.
• Sounds of battle came from the direction of the Hyuga Clan, and Kakashi Hatake hurried there while warning Kishibe Chunin to get Xuanyu and Uchiha Hanjō home.

Xuanyu warned Uchiha Hanjō to keep his Two Tomoe Sharingan and strength secret, while Hyuga Hiashi killed two Kumogakure ninja who tried to abduct Hinata. The Third Hokage learned that both the Hyuga Clan and Uchiha Hanjō had been attacked, and questioned Kishibe Chunin about saving Hanjō and his son.

• Xuanyu told Uchiha Hanjō that his Sharingan had Two Tomoe and urged him to keep Xuanyu's abilities secret, even from Senju Suyu Ji.
• Hyuga Hiashi told Kakashi that he had killed two ninja who tried to abduct Hinata, and Kakashi identified them as members of Kumogakure's peace delegation.
• The Hyuga Main Family demanded an explanation from Kumogakure, while Kakashi said the Third Hokage had to handle the matter.
• Kakashi told Sarutobi Hiruzen that Uchiha Hanjō and his son had also been attacked, but Kishibe Chunin had saved them and the attackers had escaped.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned Kishibe Chunin about fighting two Kumogakure ninja alone.

After surviving a Kumogakure attack, Xuanyu warned his family and arranged protection for his father before Konoha and Kumogakure began tense negotiations over the deaths of Kumogakure ninja. The chapter ended as Dodai demanded to know why Konoha had killed them.

• Kishibe insisted that he had saved Xuanyu and the others, while Hiruzen questioned him and sent Kakashi to fetch Sarutobi Asuma.
• Xuanyu left home to train with Hua Yu despite Uchiha Hanjō's warning, then admitted that he had killed the attackers and gave Hua Yu a key to the hospital basement specimens.
• Xuanyu encountered Might Guy, who said he knew nothing about being summoned for a mission, and later went to the Military Police Force.
• Xuanyu told Uchiha Xia to assign men to protect his father and explained the attack, but stopped the others from demanding justice without evidence.
• Hiruzen confronted Dodai during peace talks, accused Kumogakure ninja of trying to abduct the Hyuga heir, and presented their bodies.
• Dodai reacted to the bodies by demanding to know whether Konoha had killed Kumogakure's ninja.

Dodai accused Konoha of killing Kumogakure ninja and demanded that the alleged murderer be handed over, threatening war if Konoha refused. After the talks collapsed, Konoha’s advisors began blaming Hyuga Hiashi for worsening their position.

• Dodai denied that Kumogakure ninja had attacked the Hyuga Clan and accused Konoha of framing them.
• Sarutobi Asuma and Kishibe Chunin challenged Dodai, but Dodai rejected their claims and denied responsibility for attacks on the Uchiha Clan.
• Dodai demanded the body of the person who killed Kumogakure ninja, and Sarutobi Hiruzen refused to hand anyone over.
• Dodai gave Konoha one day to comply before the Land of Lightning declared war, then left with his subordinates.
• Utatane Koharu blamed Hyuga Hiashi for killing Kumogakure ninja and putting Konoha at a disadvantage in the negotiations.

Konoha’s leaders debated whether to appease Kumogakure after Hyuga Hiashi killed two ninja who had tried to kidnap Hinata. Hiashi learned that Kumogakure demanded the killer’s corpse by the next day to avert war, while the advisors hinted that a Hyuga Branch House member resembling him could be sacrificed.

• Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Sarutobi Asuma blamed Hyuga Hiashi for endangering Konoha, while several clan ninja defended his actions.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Hyuga Hiashi and elders of the Hyuga Main Family to discuss the crisis.
• Utatane Koharu said Kumogakure denied the kidnapping attempt and demanded the corpse of the ninja who killed their men by the next day.
• Hyuga Hiashi and the Hyuga Main Family members rejected the demand, but Sarutobi Hiruzen said he could not choose between Hiashi and preventing war.
• Utatane Koharu suggested using someone in the Branch House who resembled Hiashi, and Mitokado Homura asked whether Hiashi wanted Konoha engulfed in war.

Sarutobi Hiruzen pressured Hyuga Hiashi to surrender a Hyuga life in exchange for peace with Kumogakure, and Hiashi left the decision until the next day. While Hiashi considered sacrificing himself rather than his brother, the Hyuga Main Family elders decided Hizashi Hyuga would be handed over and stormed into his home.

• Sarutobi Asuma and Sarutobi Hiruzen pressured Hyuga Hiashi to accept the sacrifice, while Mitokado Homura warned that he had until tomorrow to decide.
• Hyuga Hiashi refused to trade his younger brother’s life and left the Conference Room, promising to give an answer the next day.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen and the advisers concluded that the Hyuga Clan would deliver a corpse for the negotiations, whether it was Hiashi or Hizashi Hyuga.
• Hyuga Hiashi sent the Main Family elders away and went to his residence alone, while they decided to find Hizashi Hyuga instead.
• The Hyuga Main Family elders broke into Hizashi Hyuga’s home and demanded that he come out.

Hizashi Hyuga learned that the elders planned to make him die in place of Hiashi to appease Kumogakure, then rebelled when they tortured his wife and Neji. He struck the First Elder and began fighting back against the Hyuga elders.

• Hizashi Hyuga and Neji found the elders at their home, where Neji's Mother lay injured.
• The First Elder told Hizashi Hyuga that Kumogakure demanded the Clan Head's corpse, so Hizashi had to sacrifice himself as his lookalike.
• Neji's Mother offered to take Hizashi's place, but the Fourth Elder kicked her and used Mental Wave to torment her and Neji.
• Hizashi Hyuga tried to attack the elders, but the First Elder activated the Caged Bird and inflicted intense pain on him.
• Hizashi Hyuga endured the pain, used the Body Flicker Technique to reach the First Elder, and punched him across the courtyard.

Hizashi Hyuga surrendered to the elders to protect his wife and Neji, then was forced to die in place of Hiashi Hyuga so Konoha and Kumogakure could make peace. After his funeral, Neji remained alone at his father’s grave until a boy with Double Pupils offered to be his friend.

• Hizashi Hyuga stopped fighting when the elders threatened his wife and child, agreeing to follow their arrangements.
• Hizashi Hyuga comforted Neji and Neji's Mother, asked Hiashi Hyuga to look after them, and left after telling Neji to care for his mother.
• Konoha announced that Hiashi Hyuga had sacrificed himself for peace and died by suicide, and Neji's Mother fainted upon hearing the news.
• After the peace negotiations succeeded, Hiashi Hyuga held a funeral for Hizashi Hyuga, where Neji stood silently by his father's gravestone.
• A boy with Double Pupils approached Neji at sunset and offered him food if he would become his friend.

Uchiha Xuan Yu confronted Neji Hyuga with the truth about his father’s death, his mother’s worsening illness, and the Branch House’s Caged Bird seal. Neji sank into despair, but Xuan Yu offered to help him if he agreed.

• Uchiha Xuan Yu introduced himself and asked Neji Hyuga to be his friend, but Neji refused.
• Xuan Yu warned Neji that his mother was gravely ill and that the Main House had arranged poor medical care for her.
• Neji attacked Xuan Yu, who caught his punch and explained that the Main House was not trying to save his mother.
• Xuan Yu laid out how the Caged Bird seal and the Branch House’s subservience had limited Neji and his family, driving Neji into despair.
• Xuan Yu reminded Neji of his duty to his mother and offered to help him.

Xuan Yu gained Neji Hyuga’s trust by promising to have Owuya Bai treat Neji’s mother, while Neji pledged himself to Xuan Yu if she recovered. Meanwhile, the Third Hokage ordered a response to Kumogakure’s actions and summoned Hyuga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku, leaving the village’s next move pending.

• Xuan Yu promised Neji Hyuga that Owuya Bai would treat his mother, and Neji knelt and vowed to serve him if she was cured.
• Xuan Yu took Neji to eat, escorted him home, and confirmed that Owuya Bai would visit the next day.
• Neji told his mother that Uchiha Xuan Yu had invited Owuya Bai, giving her hope that she might recover.
• Uchiha Shisui reported that the Kumogakure ninja had watched Hizashi Hyuga’s burial before leaving Konoha.
• The Third Hokage ordered Kakashi to summon Hyuga Hiashi and Uchiha Shisui to summon Uchiha Fugaku, intending to retaliate against Kumogakure and improve ties with the Uchiha Clan.
• Hyuga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku arrived at the brightly lit Hokage Office after dark.

Sarutobi Hiruzen arranged for Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi to ambush Dodai’s Kumogakure party after it crossed into the Land of Lightning. Dodai anticipated the attack and sent a messenger ahead to warn the Raikage, while Fugaku went to borrow men from Uchiha Hanjō.

• Hyuga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku agreed to provide seven Elite Jonin each for an ambush at the border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Frost.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered the clans to gather their forces the next morning and leave at noon, with instructions to let two or three Kumogakure ninja escape carrying the treaty.
• Dodai learned that the supposed Hyuga Hiashi who had died was actually Hizashi Hyuga and explained that he had accepted peace to avoid provoking Konoha into war.
• Dodai warned his men that Sarutobi Hiruzen might attack them to regain face, then sent A Gong to alert the Raikage and request an ambush at the border.
• The next day, Uchiha Fugaku headed to the Uchiha Merchant Guild to ask Uchiha Hanjō for men.

Uchiha Fugaku tried to recruit six elite Military Police Force members for a confidential mission meant to improve relations between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha, but Xuanyu refused to lend them. Xuanyu suspected the mission targeted Kumogakure and told Fugaku to use the Police Force members still under his own command instead.

• Uchiha Fugaku asked Uchiha Hanjō to lend him six elite ninjas, but Hanjō sent him to ask Xuanyu.
• Uchiha Fugaku went to the Military Police Force and urged its members to volunteer, but nobody responded.
• Uchiha Shisui appealed to the clan’s interests, and Xuanyu arrived at the Police Force.
• Uchiha Fugaku ordered Xuanyu to arrange six Elite Jonin for the mission, but Xuanyu refused.
• Uchiha Fugaku said the mission was confidential and that Shisui would lead the team, so Xuanyu suggested Fugaku use the Military Police Force members still under his command.

Xuanyu refused to send the Merchant Guild’s Uchiha on Fugaku’s mission, warning that the operation would be dangerous, then accompanied Owuya Bai to treat Neji Hyuga’s mother. As Owuya Bai began treatment, Hyuga Boyan confronted Neji outside and attacked him.

• Xuanyu, his father, and the Merchant Guild’s Uchiha refused Fugaku’s request to join the mission, and Fugaku left with Shisui.
• Xuanyu warned Uchiha Xia that the mission might cost Uchiha elites their lives and said Fugaku’s plans to restore relations with the village were misguided.
• Xuanyu and Owuya Bai visited Neji Hyuga, where Owuya Bai stopped Mito Mingdan from worsening Neji’s mother’s injuries and began treating her with Hua Yu’s help.
• Hyuga Boyan arrived angrily, accusing Neji of driving away the doctor he had hired, and Neji went outside to face him.
• Xuanyu stayed inside, but heard Neji scream as Hyuga Boyan scolded him for being disrespectful and threatened to punish him.

Xuanyu stopped Hyuga Boyan from tormenting Neji and learned that modifying the Caged Bird curse might offer a way to remove its restraints. As Konoha settled into peace, Kumogakure ninja prepared an ambush at the Land of Lightning border.

• Xuanyu intervened when Hyuga Boyan activated Neji's Caged Bird, then beat him and warned him not to bully Neji again.
• Owuya Bai told Neji that his mother was out of danger but had suffered severe damage to her soul.
• Xuanyu told Neji to begin training taijutsu with him the next morning.
• Owuya Bai explained that modifying the Caged Bird into a different kind of Cursed Seal might make its restraints removable, though the process was dangerous.
• At the Land of Lightning border, around thirty Kumogakure Top Jonin prepared to ambush Konoha ninja expected to arrive at midnight.

Uchiha Shisui’s squad ambushed Dodai’s Kumogakure team at the border, only to be surrounded by hidden reinforcements. As his comrades fell and Tuan Shan died protecting him, Shisui’s Sharingan began to change.

• Shisui’s squad prepared to attack Dodai’s group as soon as they entered the Land of Lightning.
• Dodai’s team dodged the initial attack, and fourteen Konoha ninja revealed themselves around them.
• A Kumogakure force of thirty ninja arrived and surrounded Shisui’s squad, trapping them in a battle.
• Shisui ordered his comrades to escape while he fought Dodai and a powerful Kumogakure fighter, but his squad could not break free.
• Tuan Shan took a sword meant for Shisui, killed an enemy, and died after urging Shisui to survive.
• As more Uchiha clansmen fell, Shisui’s three-tomoe Sharingan spun and changed, and a strange aura spread from him.

Uchiha Shisui awakened Susanoo while fighting Tsuchi and the Kumogakure ninjas, then strengthened it despite the strain on his eyes. The Kumogakure force retreated nearly a kilometer into the Land of Lightning as Shisui continued to weaken.

• Tsuchi ordered the middle-aged Kumogakure ninja to kill the dazed Shisui, but Shisui awakened Susanoo and blasted his attacker away.
• Tsuchi and the middle-aged man charged Shisui, who used Susanoo to knock them back while Kumogakure ninjas attacked its barrier with lightning techniques.
• Shisui's Susanoo crushed several Kumogakure ninjas as cracks spread across its barrier under the continuing assault.
• Shisui intensified Susanoo, restoring its barrier and covering its bones with veins and muscle, then seized and killed more Kumogakure ninjas.
• Tsuchi ordered a retreat, and the Kumogakure ninjas withdrew nearly a kilometer into the Land of Lightning.

After Kumogakure’s ambush ended with Shisui awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, Xuanyu visited him in the hospital and challenged his faith in the Third Hokage. Shisui defended the Hokage’s intentions, leaving Xuanyu convinced that Shisui had been badly misled.

• Dodai called off the pursuit after the Susanoo vanished and ordered the Kumogakure forces to retreat.
• Uchiha Xia told Xuanyu that the mission had cost four Uchiha and five Hyūga lives, and that Shisui’s Mangekyo had saved the team from annihilation.
• Uchiha Hanjō asked Xuanyu to visit Shisui, so Xuanyu later went to the hospital with Uchiha Xia and brought gifts.
• Xuanyu greeted Hyūga Hiashi and Hinata, then entered Shisui’s ward after encountering Fugaku and Itachi leaving.
• Xuanyu told Shisui that the dangerous mission should have made him suspicious of the Third Hokage, but Shisui insisted the Hokage had improved relations between the villagers and the Uchiha.

Xuanyu warned Shisui to investigate the villagers’ changed attitude and cautioned him about the Mangekyō’s cost. Meanwhile, Hiruzen approved Danzo’s plan to exterminate the Uchiha after a three-year delay, and Xuanyu headed to a secluded riverside as his Third Tomoe began to awaken.

• Xuanyu questioned Shisui about the villagers’ changed attitude toward the Uchiha and urged him to investigate for himself.
• Xuanyu warned Shisui that overusing the Mangekyō could cause blindness, then left after their conversation turned uncomfortable.
• Asuma told Hiruzen that Shisui had awakened Mangekyō Susanoo while saving others from Kumogakure ninja.
• Danzo proposed exterminating the Uchiha, and Hiruzen agreed but ordered him not to move against Shisui for three years.
• Xuanyu felt his Twin Pupils Sharingan beginning to awaken again and went alone to a quiet place by the river.

Xuanyu awakened a third tomoe ability: black flames that devoured dead creatures and converted their Blood Qi into energy for his Double Pupils. While eating by the river, he met Naruto Uzumaki and offered him a grilled fish.

• Xuanyu awakened a third tomoe and discovered that his black flames could devour dead creatures, though they did not harm living ones.
• Xuanyu found that the flames absorbed Blood Qi and replenished his Doujutsu Power, then hunted animals to test the ability.
• After devouring the animals, Xuanyu's Byakugan range and physical strength increased, but he remained hungry and returned to the lakeside to grill fish.
• Xuanyu sensed Naruto Uzumaki approaching with ANBU and Root observers nearby, then offered Naruto a grilled fish.
• Naruto Uzumaki eagerly accepted the fish Xuanyu handed him.