Chapter Summaries

Neji and his team stormed the cultists’ blood altar and fought through its guards and monstrous priests. Neji’s Rotation: Mirror Reversal turned the last group’s attacks against them, leaving the team poised to reach the stone coffin.

• Tsunade led Neji, Shizune, Xiao Xi, and Misaki into the cave, where they defeated the cultists guarding the entrance.
• Neji saw through the giant skeleton serpent’s illusion as Shizune crippled it and Xiao Xi killed one priest with her sword qi.
• Shizune killed the other priest with poisoned senbon and her Chakra Scalpel, while Xiao Xi’s blazing sword qi destroyed the blood pool and nearby foot soldiers.
• Six remaining guards attacked with weapons and ninjutsu, but Neji dispersed the blood mist’s influence and used Rotation: Mirror Reversal to absorb and return their attacks.
• Neji killed the surviving guards with close-range strikes, and the cavern fell silent.

Neji and Tsunade fought the Great Elder, whose failed blood ritual had transformed him into an apparently immortal monster sustained by the altar. After they destroyed the altar’s energy sources and defeated his stone serpent, he unleashed a final surge of spirit tentacles, and Neji felt an ominous palpitation as they tried to retreat.

• The Great Elder emerged from his coffin covered in faces and attacked Neji and Tsunade with black-mist tentacles and a serpent.
• Neji and Tsunade smashed the Great Elder apart, but he repeatedly reformed from black slime while blood and spirits gathered around him.
• Neji used his Byakugan to realize the Great Elder was a soul-stitched monster sustained by blood energy flowing from the altar, then ordered Shizune, Xiao Xi, and Misaki to destroy the altar and evacuate the villagers.
• Shizune burned away the altar’s blood, while Xiao Xi shattered its formation nodes with lightning.
• The Great Elder turned the cavern’s rocks into an eight-headed serpent, which Neji and Tsunade destroyed with their techniques.
• The Great Elder unleashed spirit tentacles from his chest, and Neji helped Tsunade retreat before an unusual palpitation rose within him.

Neji absorbed the Evil God's energy and awakened Sage Mode, then fought and destroyed the Evil God’s true form. After the cave collapsed, Neji fainted from spiritual exhaustion, leaving Tsunade unconscious nearby.

• Neji used the Yin-Yang Grinding Disc to absorb the vengeful spirits and draw natural energy into himself, awakening Sage Mode.
• Neji unleashed Sage Art: Glazed Lightfall, forcing the malicious spirits back into the Great Elder’s body and seizing the Evil God.
• The Evil God burst from the Great Elder’s body and attacked Neji with the God of Death Scythe, while Tsunade fell unconscious after confronting the souls on its blade.
• Neji trapped the ghost with a three-dimensional Eight Trigrams Diagram cage, struck it with the Gentle Fist, and destroyed it with Sage Art: Yin-Yang Deity Sealing.
• The cave ceiling collapsed, and Neji’s Sage Mode faded as he fainted from exhaustion.

Neji awakened in his Sea of Consciousness and discovered that the Evil God's energy had strengthened his mental power and helped him form a Thousand-Handed Dharma Form. After realizing he could pursue Crystal Release as its vessel, he resolved his doubts about his identity and concluded that transcendence mattered above all.

• Neji awoke in his Sea of Consciousness and saw the Primordial Bagua Diagram refining the Evil God's energy around his Thousand-Handed Dharma Form.
• Neji examined memories imprinted in space, including Hashirama Senju's incomplete Dharma Form, and inferred that constructing one required enormous Yin Release and a suitable vessel.
• Neji received profound knowledge of Sage Art and decided Crystal Release could carry his Dharma Form, then considered seeking Guren or Orochimaru to learn it.
• Neji questioned whether his pursuit of strength had made him unscrupulous, then reframed his doubts through the idea of unity of knowledge and action.
• Neji accepted that his past-life self and Hyuga Neji were both parts of himself and decided that compassion was only a means while transcendence was eternal.

Neji woke to find Tsunade’s body healed but her soul damaged by the Evil God’s final attack. After using the golden energy of his Dharma Form to repair her mental injuries, he learned her soul erosion could leave her asleep within a month and set out to seek the Slug Sage’s help.

• Neji found Tsunade unconscious and used his golden energy to repair her mental wounds, though her soul remained injured.
• Tsunade woke, and Shizune and Xiao Xi returned to the tent, relieved to find her and Neji alive.
• Neji warned that Tsunade’s soul erosion could cause her to fall into a deep sleep within a month, while Tsunade suggested asking Orochimaru for help.
• Neji proposed seeking the Slug Sage’s knowledge, and Tsunade agreed before falling asleep again.
• Neji summoned a Katsuyu clone, explained Tsunade’s condition, and was transported away by the Reverse Summoning Technique.

Neji learned that the Dragon Vein might be able to repair a soul and decided to take Tsunade to the Ancient Kingdom of Roran to investigate. After returning from Shikkotsu Forest with a space-time beacon from the Slug Sage, he prepared to set out with Tsunade, Shizune, and Xiao Xi.

• Neji asked the Slug Sage whether the Dragon Vein could repair a soul, and the Slug Sage said it might but directed him to the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran for answers.
• Neji resolved to seek the Dragon Vein, and the Slug Sage gave him a Jade Jue left by Hashirama to guide him through space-time turbulence on his return.
• Neji returned to the Ninja World and told Tsunade, Shizune, and Xiao Xi about the plan to visit the Roran ruins.
• Tsunade explained that the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had sealed the Dragon Vein and described his Flying Thunder God, Flying Raijin Second Stage, and skill with Sealing Jutsu.
• As Tsunade grew tired and went to sleep, Neji told Shizune and Xiao Xi to pack so they could depart for the ruins.

Neji carried the injured Tsunade and her companions across the desert toward the Loulan ruins, where the Dragon Vein might help treat her. They reached the ruins and spotted a Sand Shadow patrol, so Neji led the group around it.

• As Neji, Shizune, and Xiao Xi traveled with Tsunade, Shizune told Xiao Xi that Misaki had been taken back to the village but her younger sister had not survived.
• Neji reassured Xiao Xi that light could be covered but not extinguished, and Shizune said he reminded her of Lady Tsunade when she was young.
• Neji spotted ancient structures beneath the sand as the group neared Loulan, and Tsunade sensed the Dragon Vein pulsing ahead.
• The group reached the ruins, and Tsunade joked about their risky journey before Neji described the ninja way as never giving up.
• Neji spotted a Sand Shadow patrol several kilometers away, and, at Tsunade's instruction, led the group around a weak point in its formation.

Neji and his companions reached the Rōran Ruins to inspect the Dragon Vein seal but clashed with Sand Village forces guarding the site. Tsunade persuaded their leader to let them pass, though Sand Village continued patrolling the ruins.

• Neji used his Byakugan to detect an attack and discovered Sand Village forces concealed in the sand.
• A Sand Village Jonin named Arai Hayato confronted Neji and his companions, refusing to let them enter the sealed Rōran Ruins.
• Neji, Shizune, and Xiao Xi fought Arai and the eight Sand Village ANBU, trading powerful attacks across the sand-covered battlefield.
• Tsunade intervened and identified herself, prompting Arai Hayato to withdraw his forces and allow the group to proceed.
• Neji questioned why Sand Village had stationed so many fighters at the ruins, and Tsunade chided him for starting a fight instead of relying on her status.

Mukade betrayed Arai Hayato and the Sand Village ANBU, killing them to cover his tracks and pursue the Dragon Vein’s power and forbidden puppet techniques. He abandoned his identity as Mukade and declared himself Anrokuzan, the king of the Puppet Empire.

• Arai Hayato explained why he had allowed Konoha’s shinobi into the ruins and vowed to expose the traitor undermining Sand Village.
• Mukade stabbed Hayato and revealed that he planned to kill the ANBU and frame Konoha.
• Mukade unleashed poisoned scorpion puppets that killed the ANBU, then stabbed the wounded Hayato through the heart.
• Mukade took Hayato’s ANBU token, concealed the bodies, and revealed his ambition to obtain the Dragon Vein’s power and Sand Village’s secret techniques.
• Mukade renounced Sand Village, named himself Anrokuzan, and summoned a giant centipede puppet.

Neji and his companions searched the Loulan ruins for the Dragon Vein seal and discovered a mural showing the Fourth Hokage sealing it with an unknown blond boy. Neji uncovered and released a hidden mechanism, revealing a staircase descending beneath the hall.

• Neji suppressed his strange reaction after Mukade killed Arai Hayato and continued exploring the ruins with Tsunade, Shizune, and Xiao Xi.
• The group found a mural depicting the Dragon Vein's sealing, with the Fourth Hokage and an unidentified blond boy at its center.
• Tsunade noticed writing that described the boy as a possible traveler, while Neji concealed that he recognized him.
• Xiao Xi spotted deliberate scratches on the mural, and Neji detected traces of Wind Release chakra that suggested someone had tampered with it recently.
• Neji sensed a buried structure, found hidden sealing runes inside a brick, and released the seal to reveal a spiral staircase beneath the hall.

Neji and his companions reached the Dragon Vein’s sealing array beneath Loulan, where Neji began preparing to absorb its energy. Mukade interrupted the ritual and unleashed the Dragon Vein, sending everyone into a spacetime vortex.

• Neji examined the enormous sealing array and told Tsunade he planned to become the Dragon Vein’s jinchuriki.
• Neji deciphered most of the seal, then used Sage Mode and Space Reversal to break through its final barrier.
• Neji ordered Tsunade, Shizune, and Xiao Xi to pull out the kunai and contain the aftermath.
• Mukade rushed into the array, shattered its chains, and sent the kunai flying before Neji could finish counting.
• The Dragon Vein erupted, overwhelmed the group’s defenses, and swept everyone into a spacetime vortex as Neji urged them to survive.

Neji and Tsunade were separated from Shizune and Xiao Xi during a Dragon Vein spacetime catastrophe and found themselves stranded in the Land of Wind. Tsunade collapsed from worsening injuries, leaving Neji to carry her toward Rōran and seek the Dragon Vein.

• Neji used Hashirama Senju's Jade Jue to rupture the Spacetime Tunnel, and the force scattered him, Tsunade, Shizune, and Xiao Xi.
• Neji awoke beside Tsunade and learned that Shizune and Xiao Xi had been separated from them.
• Neji and Tsunade reasoned that the enemy had left the tunnel before them and decided to travel toward Rōran to find the Dragon Vein.
• Tsunade collapsed after the spacetime transition worsened her injuries, and Neji realized she had at most one week to live.
• Neji carried Tsunade across the desert toward Rōran, determined to obtain the Dragon Vein and find Shizune and Xiao Xi.

Neji discovered that the Sand Shinobi had turned Loulan into a massive mine, extracting energy-rich ore after the Dragon Vein had vanished. He ambushed an ore convoy, stole its refined cargo, and escaped with Tsunade as reinforcements arrived.

• Neji reached Loulan's location and found a vast mine staffed by Sand Shinobi, with the Dragon Vein gone and laborers extracting strange energy-filled ore.
• Neji followed a departing convoy and ambushed its Jonin and three Chunin, disabling them with Shadow Clones and Gentle Fist techniques.
• Neji discovered a sensory rune on the Jonin, removed it, and took the crates of refined ore before fleeing into a sandstorm.
• Neji's Shadow Clones delayed the approaching Sand Shinobi reinforcements, allowing Neji to reunite with the clone hiding Tsunade and escape dozens of kilometers into the desert.

Neji interrogated a Sunagakure Jonin while searching for answers about the missing Dragon Vein and discovered that he was in a parallel world. The chapter ended with Neji learning that Madara Uchiha had always been Konoha’s Hokage in this timeline.

• Neji recalled Shadow Clone memories of his clones fighting purple-patterned Sunagakure war puppets before the vision ended with them cornered.
• Neji sealed himself and the captured Sunagakure Jonin inside a cave, furious that the Dragon Vein had vanished and Tsunade, Shizune, and Xiao Xi remained beyond his reach.
• Neji tortured the Jonin by breaking his bones and amplifying his pain until the man agreed to answer questions.
• Neji asked what year it was and who led the major ninja villages, and the Jonin said it was Konoha Year Ten with Madara Uchiha as Hokage.
• Neji realized that Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had not fallen out in this world and concluded that he was in a parallel universe.

Neji learned that the world was at war, with Madara Uchiha ruling Konoha and Sunagakure using Dragon Vein-powered Giant Puppets against Konoha. After discovering that Reto had sealed the Dragon Vein inside himself, Neji decided he would need a new plan and headed for Konoha with Tsunade.

• Neji healed the injured Sunagakure Jonin and questioned him about the Dragon Vein and the mining operation beneath Rōran.
• The Jonin told Neji that Reto had fused the Dragon Vein into his body and that Sunagakure was mining Dragon Crystal to power Giant Puppets.
• The Jonin explained that Konoha was fighting the other four nations, and that Sunagakure and Iwagakure had advanced into Konoha's territory on the western front.
• The Jonin revealed that Madara had wiped out the Raikage's forces at Uzushio Village, prompting Kirigakure to request Giant Puppet support.
• Neji killed the Jonin, disposed of his body, carried Tsunade out of the cave, and set off toward Konoha.

Neji reached Hashirama Senju’s camp and revealed that he and Tsunade came from a parallel world, asking for help obtaining the Dragon Vein. Hashirama believed him and stabilized Tsunade’s soul, while Neji warned him that Madara and All Creation were tied to a huge conspiracy.

• Neji found Konoha’s main camp after traveling through the war-ravaged forest and released Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art to draw Hashirama out.
• Hashirama confronted Neji, recognized Tsunade’s Senju bloodline and Yin Seal, and asked who they were.
• Neji explained that he came from another time-space and that the unconscious Tsunade was Hashirama’s biological granddaughter.
• Hashirama accepted Neji’s story after sensing their bloodlines and Sage Art, then used All Creation to stabilize Tsunade’s damaged soul.
• Neji warned Hashirama that Madara and All Creation were involved in a huge conspiracy.

Neji revealed the hidden history behind the Ōtsutsuki, Black Zetsu, and Madara’s plan to Hashirama and Tobirama, then explained why he knew the future. The Senju brothers believed his account as he declared his resolve to stop the coming war and save the Ninja World.

• Hashirama brought Tsunade and Neji to the command tent, where Tobirama challenged their identities and accused Neji of infiltrating the camp.
• Neji activated Perfect Sage Mode to prove his claim, and Hashirama ordered Tobirama to lower his pressure and trust them.
• Neji told the brothers that Black Zetsu was Kaguya’s will, chakra came from the Divine Tree, and Madara’s Eye of the Moon plan would resurrect Kaguya.
• When Tobirama questioned how Neji knew the future, Neji claimed he had been reborn after dying in a parallel future where Kaguya returned.
• Neji said he had grown stronger and arranged to escape the Hyuga Clan’s control so he could stop the enemy’s conspiracy before the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Hashirama decided to tell Madara the truth about the Ninja World after the Sand Shadow Village’s impending attack was addressed, and he agreed to let Neji join the battle as his guard. Neji prepared for the coming fight and reviewed his abilities and long-term plans as dawn arrived.

• Hashirama recognized that the Senju and Uchiha bloodlines complemented each other, but told Tobirama that he would not turn against Madara before the Sand Shinobi attack.
• Hashirama decided Madara had to learn the truth and laughed at hearing that Tsunade had become Konoha’s Fifth Hokage.
• Tobirama asked Hashirama to treat Tsunade’s soul injuries, and Hashirama said he had a way to help her.
• Hashirama warned that the Sand Shadow Village would launch a new attack the next day, and he approved Neji’s request to fight as his guard.
• Neji took Hashirama’s token, settled into a nearby tent, and checked his supplies while assessing his strength and future goals.
• Neji spent the night considering his plans and woke at dawn as the Sand Shinobi attack approached.

Neji joined Hashirama in the command tent and was assigned to help repel the Sand Ninja Alliance’s strongest fighters. Their discussion about Neji’s hidden strength and the Senju Clan ended when the enemy’s attack began.

• Neji entered the command tent, where Hashirama assigned him to help hold back the Sand Ninja Alliance’s higher-ups and eliminate key combatants.
• Hashirama’s explanation that Neji had no ties to the Hyuga Clan puzzled the gathered commanders and embarrassed the Hyuga Clan head.
• Neji told Hashirama he was concealing his strength until his teacher became Hokage to avoid being drawn into village power struggles.
• Hashirama reflected on the ambitions of the village’s clans and considered the Senju Clan’s future.
• The Sand Ninjas sounded their attack horn, and Hashirama rose with immense chakra as he ordered the forces to move out.

Hashirama Senju faced Reto and the Sand Village’s allied forces as Reto deployed a giant mechanized puppet against Konoha. The battle escalated into a clash between the puppet and Hashirama’s Sage Art, and Hashirama unleashed Top Transformed Buddha.

• Neji recognized Reto’s uniformed shinobi and advanced equipment as evidence that Reto was a transmigrator.
• Reto triggered underground explosives, and Hashirama blocked the blasts with Tree Realm Wall.
• Reto’s shinobi activated a summoning array that brought forth the massive Scarlet Firmament War Puppet.
• Reto drove the puppet and the allied forces into battle while Hashirama summoned the Wooden Man Technique.
• Reto’s puppet blasted the Wooden Man with a barrage, and Hashirama countered with True Several Thousand Hands.
• Reto dodged the thousand-handed strike with the puppet’s thrusters as Hashirama began Top Transformed Buddha.