Chapter Summaries

Hyuga Hitoshi gained stronger soul-affecting Byakugan coercion after Kakashi agreed to follow him in search of the truth, then prepared a secret expedition to claim territory on the moon. As Konoha struggled against Kumogakure, Sarutobi’s attempt to prove himself as Hokage ended with him losing his temper over Asuma’s criticism.

• Kakashi chose to follow Hyuga Hitoshi, and Hitoshi’s Golden Finger increased his ocular power and upgraded his Byakugan coercion to affect souls and spirits.
• Hyuga Hitoshi named his Golden Finger Mr. 91 Gold and spent the night with Pakura and Mikoto while Itachi saw him enter his mother’s room.
• After returning from the moon, Hyuga Hitoshi selected elite clan members for a secret mission to seize territory there.
• Sarutobi worked to lead Konoha’s war effort against Kumogakure and tried to restrain Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu from taking war supplies.
• Yuhi Shin'en reported criticism of Sarutobi, including Asuma’s claim that the Hokage should fight on the front lines, and Sarutobi slammed the table and shouted in anger.

Asuma publicly accused Sarutobi of being afraid to fight the Raikage, prompting Sarutobi to knock him unconscious with a slap. Sarutobi defended his decision to stay in Konoha, while Hitoshi gathered the Hyuga elites and called them to ascend to heaven to worship their ancestors.

• Uchiha Satoshi explained to Uchiha Fugaku how he had used Itachi's theories and Asuma's strained relationship with Sarutobi to encourage Asuma to criticize his father.
• Asuma denounced the Will of Fire and accused Sarutobi of avoiding the battlefield because he feared losing to the Raikage.
• Sarutobi struck Asuma unconscious with a powerful slap, leaving the watching villagers and shinobi impressed by his speed and strength.
• Villagers asked Sarutobi whether he would go to the battlefield, and he argued that Konoha needed him to guard the rear.
• Sarutobi privately feared leaving the Uchiha and Hyuga clans unchecked, while Hitoshi gathered the Hyuga elites and called them to ascend to heaven to worship their ancestors.

Hyuga Hitoshi’s clansmen infiltrated the moon and stoked conflict between the Otsutsuki Main and Branch Families while he planned to seize control without letting the Branch Family win too easily. In Hamura’s Ancestral Hall, Hamura’s remnant soul appeared and asked Hitoshi to help address the dangers threatening the world, prompting Hitoshi to revise his plans.

• Hyuga Hitoshi’s disguised clansmen provoked fights between Otsutsuki Main and Branch Family members across the moon and dragged away the combatants.
• Hyuga Hiashi reported that the moon held too many people for their small force to handle quickly, so Hitoshi ordered his clansmen to keep stirring conflict while staying safe.
• Hitoshi learned that the Main Family blamed Otsutsuki Toneri for its young master’s death, while the Branch Family refused to surrender its heir and pursued research that could produce the Purple Tenseigan.
• Hitoshi entered Hamura’s Ancestral Hall, where Hamura’s remnant soul appeared and praised Hitoshi’s powerful bloodline.
• Hamura explained that he needed Hitoshi’s help with dangers including the vanished Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the threat of war among Hamura’s descendants.
• Hitoshi accepted Hamura’s proposal and decided to write a new plan for the moon’s inhabitants.

On the moon, Hyuga Hitoshi questioned Hagoromo Otsutsuki about the mysteries surrounding Kaguya and persuaded him to provide help. Hamura gave Hitoshi a token to access a hidden secret, while Hitoshi planned to recruit the moon’s Otsutsuki rather than destroy them.

• Hyuga Hitoshi asked Hagoromo Otsutsuki who planted the God Tree, where Kaguya got her Chakra, whether other aliens might arrive, and why she created the White Species, but Hagoromo could not answer.
• Hyuga Hitoshi suggested that Hagoromo and his brother had sealed Kaguya without understanding her reasons, making Hagoromo reconsider his brother’s plans for the Shinobi World.
• Hyuga Hitoshi hinted that he needed support for his strange eyes, and Hamura gathered soul power while listening to him.
• Hyuga Hitoshi considered exploiting the Otsutsuki clan’s family conflict to bring its members under his command and use their Byakugan to create a Tenseigan.
• Hamura gave Hyuga Hitoshi a token and directions to a secret in the previous Ancestral Hall, then began to disappear.
• Hyuga Hitoshi stored Hamura’s ashes in his Space-Time storage and said farewell as Hamura called him the new Clan Head of the Otsutsuki.

After receiving Hamura’s inheritance, Hitoshi Hyuga planned to use it to take control of the Otsutsuki clan and stabilize his Tenseigan. He left the chapter ready to bury himself in research to build an energy source for his eyes.

• Hitoshi Hyuga entered Hamura’s hidden inheritance chamber and found sealed Byakugan and research records on techniques, chakra modes, and the Tenseigan.
• Hitoshi told Gyuba, Hyuga Hiashi, and Hizashi Hyuga that he had received an ancestral revelation and planned to become head of the Otsutsuki clan.
• Hitoshi ordered his followers to identify the most aggressive Otsutsuki and said he would deal with them, while planning to use the inheritance to control the clan.
• Hitoshi assessed that his unstable Tenseigan could briefly let him fight powerful opponents but risked consuming his eye power and leaving him blind.
• Hitoshi decided to connect his eye power to an Energy Vessel Tenseigan, and Mr. 91 Gold granted him a ten-day status that doubled the results of his efforts.

As Konoha struggled in a war of attrition against Kumogakure, Itachi and Asuma discussed the village’s losses and their fathers’ failings. Hiruzen discovered that people who had approached Asuma were linked to Root, while Danzo confidently predicted victory at the front.

• Konoha and Kumogakure fought to a stalemate as the prolonged war and mounting casualties strained Konoha.
• Itachi watched the wounded and dead return to the village and worried that the war would bring only suffering.
• Asuma joined Itachi, criticized Hiruzen’s leadership, and offered him a cigarette, which Itachi declined.
• Hiruzen learned that people who had approached Asuma had disappeared near the Root Base and angrily rejected the report because Danzo was at the front.
• Danzo sneezed on Nara Shikaku, then declared that he understood war better than anyone and that Konoha would win.

Shimura Danzō presented three plans to break Konoha’s stalemate against Kumogakure, hoping to win back influence through a major contribution. The shinobi were impressed by his final proposal to trigger an Eight-Tails Rampage, while Nara Shikaku remained wary of Danzō’s record of disastrous campaigns.

• Danzō addressed the command post, insisting that he understood war better than anyone and that Konoha’s retreat could be turned to its advantage.
• Danzō proposed extending Kumogakure’s supply lines by retreating until they collapsed.
• Danzō proposed promising Iwagakure rewards to attack Kumogakure, then withholding payment after the attack began.
• Danzō proposed sending someone to fake surrender and trigger an Eight-Tails Rampage using medicine Sarutobi possessed.
• The gathered shinobi stared at Danzō in astonishment, while Shikaku questioned the risks of his plans.

Sarutobi and the Hokage Advisors reviewed Danzo’s plans to turn the war against Kumogakure around, while the Otsutsuki Main and Branch Families descended into bloody conflict on the moon. Hyuga Hitoshi appeared above the battlefield and declared himself the Otsutsuki Clan’s new Clan Head.

• Sarutobi rebuked Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura over war supplies, then presented Danzo’s three strategies for defeating Kumogakure.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu approved Danzo’s plans, including using Orochimaru’s hallucinogenic medicine on Killer B, but Sarutobi postponed choosing someone for the mission.
• Otsutsuki Juren was unable to gather the Branch Family before a dispute at a beef noodle restaurant ignited a full-scale battle with the Main Family.
• The Otsutsuki clansmen’s fighting spiraled into a bloody contest of sneak attacks and dirty tactics across the moon.
• Hyuga Hitoshi appeared within a golden, eye-shaped spectacle and announced that he was the new Clan Head of the Otsutsuki Clan.

Hyuga Hitoshi used the Energy Vessel Tenseigan to brainwash the moon’s Otsutsuki and bring their clan under his control. After setting plans for their reorganization and the Hyuga clan’s expansion, he uncovered Kaguya Otsutsuki sealed beside Hamura’s secret chamber.

• Hyuga Hitoshi used the Energy Vessel Tenseigan to implant a false memory of Hagoromo’s prophecy, making the moon’s Otsutsuki submit to him.
• Hyuga Hitoshi discovered that his technique did not affect the blind Toneri and decided he needed to improve it.
• Hyuga Hitoshi promised to remove the Otsutsuki’s Caged Bird Curse Marks after they proved their loyalty and the clan grew stronger.
• Hyuga Hitoshi ordered the Otsutsuki to unite as the Moon Clan, reorganize their ranks, and help relocate Hyuga clan members from Konoha.
• Hyuga Hitoshi returned to Hamura’s secret chamber, broke through seals beside the core of the Six Paths Chibaku Tensei, and saw Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Hyuga Hitoshi used the Energy Vessel Tenseigan to bring a fragment of Princess Kaguya’s consciousness out of the lunar seal and into a miniature replica body. After Kaguya’s attempt to attack him failed, Hitoshi led her toward the Shinobi World, pleased that his actions had advanced his Golden Finger’s upgrade.

• Hyuga Hitoshi offered Kaguya a chance to leave her seal and showed her the Simulation Doll he had made in her likeness.
• Kaguya silently released a thread of Chakra Source Power, and Hitoshi used the Energy Vessel Tenseigan to draw her consciousness out of the Six Paths Chibaku Tensei.
• Kaguya found herself in the replica body and attacked Hitoshi with her Byakugan Authority, but the force sent her crashing into a wall instead.
• Hitoshi told Kaguya they were going to see her former nursery and followed her out of the Secret Chamber.
• Hitoshi received a message that his actions had shaken the world’s worldview and strengthened his Intangible Teleportation ability, while Kaguya followed him reluctantly.

Kumogakure and Iwagakure moved to exploit Konoha’s retreat, while Hyuga Hitoshi traveled to the Land of Rice Fields to consult Orochimaru about evolution and Sage Transformation. The chapter ended with Orochimaru overwhelmed by Hitoshi’s claims and questions.

• The Raikage sent elite squads to raid the Land of Fire for supplies, leaving civilians displaced and Sarutobi under pressure.
• Ōnoki accepted the Raikage’s offer to cooperate against Konoha after Danzo’s visit convinced him Konoha was close to collapse.
• Hyuga Hitoshi arrived at a hidden cave in the Land of Rice Fields with Kaguya Otsutsuki, who complained about the teleportation and surveyed the surroundings.
• Hitoshi found Orochimaru and asked him for advice on human experimentation, describing the Hyuga kin he had found on the moon and his ideas about evolution.
• Hitoshi asked Orochimaru about the White Snake of Ryūchi Cave, Sage Transformation, and the Three God Princesses, prompting Orochimaru to slap himself and scream.

Hyuga Hitoshi recruited Orochimaru to serve as the Hyuga Clan’s Research Minister, offering freedom, ancient ninjutsu, and support for his immortality research while threatening to force him into service. He brought Orochimaru to the moon to show him the new laboratory, leaving Orochimaru stunned by Hitoshi’s lunar nation.

• Orochimaru threatened to kill himself when Hyuga Hitoshi revealed he had built a nation on the moon.
• Hyuga Hitoshi offered Orochimaru a Research Minister position with elder-level treatment and resources for his experiments, or forced service through death and Impure World Reincarnation.
• Orochimaru said he needed time to consider because he had joined the Akatsuki and was unsure whether its leader would pursue him.
• Hyuga Hitoshi told Orochimaru that the Akatsuki had no future and that Nagato’s eyes were not worth researching.
• Hyuga Hitoshi took Orochimaru through a Space Vortex to the moon, where Otsutsuki workers bowed to Hitoshi as they cleared a battlefield.
• Hyuga Hitoshi connected to the Energy Vessel Tenseigan, marked Orochimaru, and called him Snake Minister as he led him to his new laboratory.

Orochimaru agreed to consider becoming the Hyuga Clan’s Research Minister, while Hyuga Hitoshi inspected a hidden lunar passage and planned a clan relocation. On the way back to Konoha, Hitoshi sensed a Godslayer’s ocular power and rushed toward a war-torn town, with Kaguya following him.

• Orochimaru and Hyuga Hitoshi agreed to discuss the Research Minister position after handling their other affairs, and Hitoshi assured him he could leave Akatsuki if he wished.
• Hyuga Hitoshi dismissed Kaguya’s contempt and inspected the cave entrance, deciding it was suitable for a hidden base and future relocation of Hyuga clansmen.
• Hyuga Hitoshi noticed civilians fleeing toward Konoha and wondered why the war had reached the area so quickly.
• Hyuga Hitoshi sensed a Godslayer activating his eyes and sped toward the source, while Kaguya followed after realizing that staying near him helped sustain her puppet.
• Hyuga Hitoshi and Kaguya arrived at a damaged town where two opposing groups faced off, and Kaguya noticed a woman among them.

Tsunade confronted a Hidden Cloud Village squad attacking civilians, but her hemophobia left her vulnerable when Yugito Nii ordered her captured. Hyuga Hitoshi intervened at the last moment, seized Yugito, and turned her capture boast against her.

• Tsunade attacked the Hidden Cloud Village squad after finding its ninjas pillaging and beating civilians, then shielded the townspeople as they fled.
• Tsunade struck Yugito Nii but began trembling when she saw blood and remembered Nawaki's death.
• Yugito ordered her subordinates to capture Tsunade alive and closed in as Tsunade struggled to overcome her fear.
• Hyuga Hitoshi suddenly sent Yugito crashing into a shop, then used his imitation Tenseigan and Banshō Ten'in to pull her toward him and seize her by the throat.
• Hyuga Hitoshi declared, "Capture successful!" as Yugito recognized him.

Hyuga Hitoshi overwhelmed Yugito Nii and the Hidden Cloud squad with a mysterious Byakugan power, but Yugito drew on the Two-Tails and kept fighting. He ended the exchange by turning the Hyuga Clan’s defensive Rotation into a blazing fireball aimed at her, leaving Tsunade stunned.

• Yugito Nii escaped Hitoshi’s grip and attacked him while her Hidden Cloud teammates moved in behind him.
• Hitoshi unleashed Byakugan—Coercion, blasting the Hidden Cloud squad and sending Yugito and Tsunade flying.
• The Two-Tails panicked at Hitoshi’s power and poured Chakra into Yugito, who recovered and charged at him again.
• Hitoshi blocked Yugito’s strike and kicked her away before taking the stance for Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation.
• Hitoshi spun into a flaming fireball and launched it at Yugito, leaving Tsunade astonished.

Hyuga Hitoshi defeated Yugito and carried her and the unconscious Tsunade away, while Konoha villagers fled the unsafe area. Back in Konoha, Kakashi left the Hokage’s office still suspected over the Nine-Tails incident, then learned Hitoshi had returned and dragged Shisui into the crowd.

• Hyuga Hitoshi’s Crimson Flame Rotation overwhelmed Yugito, and she passed out after the Two-Tails’ chakra ran low.
• Hyuga Hitoshi confirmed Yugito was unconscious, carried her and Tsunade, and set off toward Konoha while the Rabbit Goddess watched him suspiciously.
• The villagers left the battlefield after Konoha’s defensive line had retreated, and they remained hostile toward Konoha’s ninja.
• The Third Hokage spoke to Kakashi about his eye and White Fang, but Kakashi left without being cleared of suspicion.
• Shisui tried to confront the Third Hokage on Kakashi’s behalf, but Kakashi stopped him.
• Kakashi heard gossip that Hyuga Hitoshi had returned and dragged Shisui into the crowd.

Hyuga Hitoshi heard Uchiha Fugaku explain Danzo’s three wartime schemes and learned that the Third planned to pressure Kakashi into a deadly mission to make the Eight-Tails rampage. Hitoshi assured Kakashi the scheme would fail, while Kakashi regretted missing the chance to see the rampage in front of Sarutobi Shinnosuke.

• Uchiha Fugaku praised Hyuga Hitoshi for carrying Tsunade back to Konoha, then warned him that the Land of Fire’s situation had worsened.
• Fugaku explained that Danzo had proposed retreating into the Land of Fire’s heartland and drawing out Kumogakure’s supply lines.
• Fugaku said Danzo had sought Iwagakure’s support, and that Iwagakure had assembled shinobi to attack Kumogakure from the rear.
• Fugaku revealed that the Third planned to pressure Kakashi to surrender his Sharingan or undertake a mission to drug the Eight-Tails and provoke its rampage.
• Hyuga Hitoshi told Kakashi that Danzo’s scheme could not be carried out and that Kakashi would not have to go undercover.
• Kakashi said he regretted missing the chance to see the Eight-Tails rampage in front of Sarutobi Shinnosuke.

Hyuga Hitoshi learned that the Third had summoned Konoha’s department heads to welcome a supposed meritorious subject, while Tsunade asked Hitoshi to take her along so she could confront Danzo. Hitoshi and the others arrived at the village entrance, where the returning subject appeared before the gathered crowd.

• Kakashi pledged to stay alive and cooperate with Hyuga Hitoshi rather than challenge the Third Hokage directly.
• Kaguya gestured for Hyuga Hitoshi to go to the reception room entrance, where Tsunade appeared looking weak.
• Hyuga Gyuba reported that the Third had summoned Konoha’s department heads to welcome a meritorious subject.
• Tsunade asked Hyuga Hitoshi to take her with him so she could see what had become of the Land of Fire and confront Danzo.
• Hyuga Hitoshi left with Tsunade, and Uchiha Fugaku followed after realizing Hitoshi had captured the Two-Tails Jinchuriki alive.
• The Third waited with Konoha’s commanders at the village entrance as the returning meritorious subject appeared.

Danzo returned to Konoha to a staged reception, while Tsunade revealed that her fear of blood came from the deaths she could not prevent during the war. Hyuga Hitoshi offered to help her face that fear, leaving her recovering in his arms.

• Danzo stopped outside Konoha until Sarutobi led the crowd in applauding him, then resumed his triumphant entrance.
• Yuhi Kurenai told Hyuga Hitoshi that Danzo was being praised as a military genius and would be reinstated.
• Tsunade collapsed into Hyuga Hitoshi's arms, and he questioned her about her fear of blood and Dan Katō.
• Tsunade explained that many people had died in the war and that her guilt and memories had made her afraid of blood.
• Tsunade said she wanted to endure her fear rather than recover by avoiding it, and Hyuga Hitoshi promised to lend her a helping hand.

Shimura Danzō returned to Konoha boasting that he had secured an alliance with Iwagakure, but an urgent report revealed that Iwagakure had allied with Kumogakure to attack Konoha. Tsunade regained her strength and charged at Danzō as the crowd realized his mission had disastrously backfired.

• Shimura Danzō returned to Konoha and boasted that his plans had made him the village’s savior.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen pressed Danzō for details, while Danzō insulted him and claimed he was more capable than Tobirama.
• Tsunade confronted Danzō over his claims, and Danzō dismissed her and threatened to disrespect Tobirama’s granddaughter.
• Yuhi Shin'en reported that Iwagakure and Kumogakure had formed an alliance and were attacking Konoha’s front line, where Nara Shikaku needed immediate reinforcements.
• Hyuga Hitoshi restored Tsunade’s strength, and she lunged at Danzō with a punch.