Recaps

Jingyi secretly used the Tenseigan to bring a tiger puppet to life and continued developing puppets while keeping his ability hidden. By the snowy end of the year, he was spending time with Tsunade, Kushina, and Nawaki at a barbecue as he sensed the Tenseigan's next fetal movement approaching.

• Jingyi bought puppet-making materials and built a tiger puppet from a corpse, but its movements were stiff until he used the Tenseigan to grant it life.
• Tsunade left Jingyi to study the puppet, unaware that he had made it move like a living creature and planned to build more outside the village to protect his secret.
• Jingyi devoted much of his time to making puppets while continuing to work, and he sensed that the Tenseigan's fetal movement might begin after the New Year.
• At the end of the year, Tsunade dragged Jingyi to the market, and he later grilled meat for Tsunade, Kushina, and Nawaki at home.

Jingyi spent a meal with Tsunade, Nawaki, and Kushina, who questioned him about whether he liked Tsunade. After they left, he returned to his seals while the Third Hokage met with Shimura Danzō, who demanded that Jingyi be sent away.

• Jingyi ate grilled meat with Kushina, Tsunade, and Nawaki, and Kushina said Minato Namikaze was only half her friend.
• Kushina asked to invite Minato over after Jingyi finished his mission, and Jingyi agreed.
• Kushina teased Nawaki about liking Mikoto Uchiha, prompting Nawaki to blurt out that Tsunade had no one she liked.
• Jingyi reassured Kushina that people were afraid to tell Tsunade they liked her, then evaded Kushina's question about whether he liked Tsunade.
• Tsunade left with Kushina and the bruised Nawaki, and Jingyi returned to working on his seals.
• Shimura Danzō told the Third Hokage to send Jingyi Hyuga away and said he would reclaim the Hokage advisor position.

The Third Hokage approved a Border Camp rotation after Shimura Danzō argued that Jingyi Hyuga should leave the village, and Jingyi was assigned as the camp’s medical ninja. After Tsunade explained that medical ninja kept their salary and had plenty of free time, Jingyi prepared to depart and joined the group assembling at the training ground.

• Shimura Danzō urged the Third Hokage to send Jingyi Hyuga away, citing the Caged Bird Seal and the Hyuga Clan’s control over him.
• After meeting Shimura Danzō, the Third Hokage agreed to have the Elder Council lead a Border Camp rotation, and Shimura Danzō visited Mitokado Homura that night.
• The village placed Jingyi on the rotation roster and notified him that he would leave in three days.
• Jingyi showed Tsunade the notice, and she explained that medical ninja at the Border Camp had generous free time while continuing to receive their salary.
• Jingyi packed for the deployment and arrived at the training ground, where the departing ninja gathered and asked who their medical ninja was.

Jingyi Hyuga joined a Konoha rotation team as its only medical ninja and arrived at a rain-soaked border camp in the Land of Rain. As he settled into camp life, he noticed Vice Captain Sarutobi Mishima keeping a close eye on the infirmary and called him over to talk.

• Jingyi introduced himself to the rotation team, and Captain Little Honda confirmed that he was a Hyuga Clan member with Byakugan degeneration who had trained as a medical ninja.
• Sarutobi Mishima told Jingyi that Tsunade had asked the captains to give him some freedom of movement, and the team promised to protect him.
• The team reached its assigned camp on the Land of Rain border after two uneventful days, and Jingyi lamented the constant rain and boredom.
• Little Honda brought back a wild deer, and Jingyi roasted it while the others prepared the firewood and teased their captain.
• Jingyi noticed Sarutobi Mishima frequently watching the infirmary, then asked him to talk after the camp shared the venison.

Jingyi learned that Sarutobi Mishima had been secretly assigned to protect him and suspected Shimura Danzō had arranged for him to be sent to the camp. He sent Konoha a report by puppet crow, and Tsunade responded by deciding to visit the Daimyo.

• Jingyi asked Sarutobi Mishima why he had been staying nearby, and Sarutobi Mishima explained that the Third Hokage had assigned him to protect Jingyi in secret.
• Jingyi reasoned that Shimura Danzō might have targeted him by arranging his placement on the camp rotation roster.
• Jingyi made a puppet crow, attached an encrypted intelligence scroll, and sent it to Tsunade in Konoha.
• Tsunade opened the scroll using the password Jingyi had set and became furious at Shimura Danzō after reading the report.
• Tsunade took the scroll to Mito Uzumaki and asked for a letter to be delivered to the Daimyo's Court so she could visit the Daimyo.

Tsunade secretly visited Jingyi at the border camp, where an awkward accident exposed his repulsive-force ability. They then discussed Shimura Danzō’s likely plot against Jingyi and the possibility that Hanzo might act through Amegakure.

• Tsunade visited the daimyo, then secretly detoured to the border camp to see Jingyi.
• Tsunade realized she had no dry clothes after changing beneath Jingyi’s blanket, and Jingyi understood why she would not take the food tray.
• Tsunade attacked Jingyi in embarrassment, triggering his repulsive force and tearing apart the blanket; Jingyi gave her spare clothes and fled.
• After Tsunade dressed and ate, she told Jingyi that Mito Uzumaki and the Hokage likely knew he was being targeted.
• Jingyi identified Shimura Danzō as the likely threat and reasoned that Amegakure could be involved, while Tsunade questioned whether Hanzo would risk attacking the village’s camp.

Jingyi warned Tsunade that Shimura Danzō might hire Hanzō to assassinate him, but argued that staying at the Border Camp was safer than returning to the village. After their argument turned intimate, Tsunade spent the night with Jingyi and left for the village the next morning.

• Jingyi explained that Shimura Danzō might use Hanzō to target him and that returning to the village could enable Danzō to manipulate public opinion.
• Jingyi convinced Tsunade that Danzō lacked the leverage to persuade Hanzō easily, so his safety at the camp was not in immediate danger.
• Tsunade confronted Jingyi about what had happened, and their quarrel turned into kissing and teasing that woke the camp.
• Sarutobi Mishima recognized Tsunade's voice, sent the other camp members back to bed, and discouraged Little Honda from prying.
• Tsunade agreed to leave the camp the next morning and returned to the village without meeting the others.

Jiraiya returned from a mission and noticed that Tsunade had become unusually quiet, while Nawaki linked her changed appetite to Jingyi’s absence. At the border camp, Jingyi’s Tenseigan stirred for the third time, leaving him temporarily unable to see as the camp worried about his condition.

• Tsunade left Jingyi’s medical room early in the morning, and Jingyi told Little Honda and Sarutobi Mishima only that she had gone.
• Jiraiya returned to Konoha, complained about his mission, and invited Orochimaru and Tsunade to eat with him.
• Jiraiya noticed that Tsunade did not scold him or eat much, and Nawaki said she and Kushina had missed Jingyi’s cooking since he left.
• Jingyi sensed the Tenseigan’s third stirring on New Year’s night, covered his eyes with prepared cloth, and told the camp that his vision would be impaired for a while.
• Little Honda worried that Jingyi could not treat wounded ninja, while Jingyi reassured him that he could manage his condition without being rotated out.

Jingyi hid how manageable his eye condition was while the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō weighed the danger of acting against him. After receiving Kushina’s generous care package, Jingyi made the most of its food supplies at the border camp.

• Jingyi told Little Honda that his eyes kept him from combat, and Little Honda and Sarutobi Mishima agreed to manage the camp while he recovered.
• Sarutobi Mishima reported Jingyi’s condition to the Third Hokage, who wondered whether Shimura Danzō would seize the chance to attack; Danzō recognized the situation as a trap and burned the report.
• Little Honda delivered a sealing scroll sent on Tsunade’s orders, and Jingyi discovered that Kushina had paid for its many supplies.
• Jingyi asked Sarutobi Mishima to help build an ice box, then stored the surplus meat from Kushina’s gift inside it.
• Jingyi cooked beef and potatoes for the camp, and the ninjas enjoyed the meal and looked forward to helping him again.

Jingyi spent New Year’s Eve sensing the Tenseigan at the Border Camp while Kushina lamented his absence. In Konoha, the Third Hokage’s council planned a response to Sunagakure’s provocations, but Tsunade warned that sending forces into the Land of Rain could provoke Iwagakure as well.

• Jingyi stayed away from the camp’s New Year gathering and silently sensed the Tenseigan from his bed.
• Kushina told Mito Uzumaki that she missed Jingyi and worried about his conditions at the Border Camp.
• The Third Hokage convened Konoha’s leaders on New Year’s Eve and described Sunagakure’s repeated incursions into the Land of Rivers and Amegakure’s growing ambitions under Hanzō.
• The Third Hokage declared that Konoha should retaliate rather than remain passively defensive.
• Shikaku Nara proposed entering the Land of Rain to pressure Sunagakure and limit Amegakure’s growth, and the Third Hokage recognized the plan’s potential.
• Tsunade warned the council that operating in the Land of Rain could provoke Iwagakure because the country bordered the Land of Earth.

Shimura Danzō used Konoha’s proposal to send shinobi into the Land of Rain to pressure Hanzō into helping him kill Jingyi Hyuga. Hanzō rejected the deal for the moment, and Danzō left Jingyi’s dossier with him.

• Tsunade warned that sending shinobi into the Land of Rain could draw Sunagakure and Iwagakure into conflict, while Shikaku Nara argued that Iwagakure’s clashes with Kumogakure might limit its response.
• After the meeting, Shimura Danzō learned of the proposal and traveled to Amegakure to meet Hanzō.
• Shimura Danzō told Hanzō that Konoha considered Amegakure a threat and might send shinobi into the Land of Rain to provoke Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
• Shimura Danzō offered to oppose the proposal if Hanzō helped him kill Jingyi Hyuga, whom Danzō said was valued by Mito Uzumaki.
• Hanzō refused to commit to the deal, but Shimura Danzō left Jingyi’s dossier and said he would await news.

Shimura Danzō pressured Hanzō into considering an assassination by threatening the Land of Rain with war, while Konoha’s response to Sunagakure’s provocation risked giving Danzō another chance to use him. After reading Tsunade’s intelligence, Jingyi prepared for a possible attack by Hanzō on the nearby camp.

• Shimura Danzō left Hanzō with documents and a threat, forcing him to weigh an assassination against allowing the Land of Rain to become a battlefield.
• Hanzō examined the information about a bloodline disease and suspected Danzō had concealed his real reasons for targeting someone.
• Puppet Crow brought Jingyi an intelligence scroll from Tsunade reporting Sunagakure’s provocation and an emergency meeting in Konoha.
• Jingyi read that Shikaku Nara had proposed shifting the conflict toward the Land of Rain and realized the plan could help Danzō manipulate Hanzō.
• Jingyi destroyed the scroll and began preparing for a possible attack, knowing Hanzō could reach the nearby camp and unleash deadly poison.

Jingyi exposed Shimura Danzō’s loss of authority to Hanzō, prompting the Amegakure leader to turn against Danzō and bring evidence to Konoha’s camp. Hanzō told Little Honda that Danzō had tried to hire him to kill Jingyi, leaving the camp stunned by the revelation.

• Jingyi sent Hanzō a scroll revealing that Shimura Danzō had been stripped of his position as Hokage Advisor.
• Hanzō read the scroll, seized Danzō’s men, and interrogated them to verify the information.
• After confirming the scroll was accurate, Hanzō ordered Danzō’s intelligence and a corpse sent to Konoha’s camp, then chose to deliver them himself.
• Hanzō arrived at Konoha’s camp with a corpse, and Sarutobi Mishima warned Jingyi that a battle might break out.
• Hanzō told Little Honda that Danzō had offered Konoha intelligence in exchange for Jingyi’s death, and Little Honda realized the corpse was a Konoha ninja.

Hanzō exposed Shimura Danzō’s attempt to trade Konoha intelligence for an assassination of Jingyi, prompting the Third Hokage to summon Konoha’s senior leadership. The Third Hokage began confronting the crisis, while the summoned officials arrived unaware of its cause.

• Hanzō gave Little Honda an interrogation report and accused Shimura Danzō of leaking Konoha intelligence to arrange Jingyi’s assassination.
• Little Honda told Sarutobi Mishima what had happened, and Jingyi laughed after they left to report it to the village.
• Sarutobi Mishima sent a warning to Konoha by Ninja Eagle and carried the corpse back through the winter snow.
• The Third Hokage read the intelligence scroll, learned of Danzō’s deal with Hanzō, and erupted in anger.
• The Third Hokage ordered Anbu to summon Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Torifu Akimichi; Torifu and the two advisors arrived.

Hiruzen learned that Shimura Danzō had assassinated a fellow Konoha ninja and traded village intelligence to Hanzō in an attempt to kill Jingyi Hyuga. He ordered Danzō arrested and the Hokage Office to blame the affair on him, while Danzō wondered how his plan had been exposed.

• An Anbu ninja reported that Shimura Danzō claimed to be unwell and would not come to the Hokage Office.
• Hiruzen erupted in anger and told Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Torifu Akimichi that Danzō had hired Hanzō to kill Jingyi Hyuga and leaked village intelligence.
• The leaders agreed to arrest Danzō, announce that he had acted alone, and punish him without erasing his past service.
• Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Torifu Akimichi led Anbu to Danzō's courtyard, where Torifu told him his crimes had been exposed.
• Danzō questioned how the plot had come to light and wondered whether Jingyi Hyuga had defeated Hanzō.

Shimura Danzō was arrested after Hanzō exposed his betrayal, and the Third Hokage used a public punishment announcement to calm Konoha and the camp. Jingyi recovered while the Tenseigan stirred for over a month, then discovered his body had fully healed.

• Utatane Koharu told Shimura Danzō that Hanzō had exposed his intelligence deal and the deaths of his agents, and Anbu took Danzō to prison.
• The Hokage Office Building announced Danzō's arrest and punishment, winning praise for the Third Hokage and calming Konoha's anger.
• Sarutobi Mishima reported to the Third Hokage that Hanzō had left a Shimura Clan ninja's corpse at the camp and refused to explain his betrayal.
• Sarutobi Mishima returned to camp and announced the punishment, while Jingyi rested and let the vice-captain handle camp affairs.
• After more than a month, the Tenseigan's stirring ended, and Jingyi removed his eye covering and found that his body had recovered.

As Mito Uzumaki’s health worsened, Konoha made transferring the Nine-Tails to Kushina its top priority, while Jingyi could only follow events from Border Camp. Tsunade sent Nawaki to the Daimyo’s Court with Jiraiya, keeping him away until the transfer was over.

• Jingyi learned from Tsunade’s reports that Mito Uzumaki’s declining health meant Konoha had to transfer the Nine-Tails to Kushina before Mito died.
• Jingyi destroyed Tsunade’s scroll and worried that the transfer might go badly, knowing he could not help from Border Camp and the F4 would not let him intervene.
• Tsunade stayed home with Mito, while Kushina’s sadness and the tense atmosphere left Nawaki unaware of what was happening.
• At Mito’s request, Tsunade sent Nawaki to the Daimyo’s Court so he would be away during the transfer.
• Tsunade arranged for Jiraiya to accompany Nawaki and warned them both not to cause trouble.

Mito Uzumaki arranged for Torifu Akimichi to become Hokage Advisor and take control of the Medical System, strengthening Tsunade’s position before Kushina became the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki. The transfer succeeded, but Mito died, leaving Kushina grieving and the Nine-Tails tightly bound in her sealing space.

• Nawaki eagerly followed Jiraiya to the Daimyo's Court while preparations began for the Nine-Tails’ transfer.
• Mito Uzumaki comforted Kushina at the Senju ancestral residence before beginning the transfer.
• Mito Uzumaki forced Torifu Akimichi to become Hokage Advisor and put the Medical System under his control, aligning the Ino-Shika-Cho clans with Tsunade.
• Kushina successfully sealed the Nine-Tails with Mito Uzumaki’s help, and the beast roared in anger from within her sealing space.
• Kushina grieved for Mito and ignored the Nine-Tails as it struggled against the chains binding it in an awkward position.

Orochimaru visited Jingyi at the border camp to deliver materials and asked to see the puppets Jingyi had been making. Jingyi negotiated a deal for Orochimaru to clear his debt and provide three batches of top-grade materials, then showed him a puppet crow, whose unusual qualities caught Orochimaru’s attention.

• Orochimaru arrived at the border camp and told the guard he had a personal matter to discuss with Jingyi.
• Orochimaru delivered supplies and a list of charges, and Jingyi admitted he could not pay off his growing debt yet.
• Orochimaru asked to inspect Jingyi’s puppets, and Jingyi demanded that Orochimaru clear the debt and pay him five million ryō.
• Orochimaru offered to clear the debt and provide three free batches of top-grade materials instead, and Jingyi accepted.
• Jingyi summoned a puppet crow and let Orochimaru examine it, warning him not to take it apart.
• Orochimaru caught the crow and quickly noticed that it was unusual.

Jingyi showed Orochimaru the living-looking Puppet Crow, prompting Orochimaru to seek money for research. Orochimaru took over a village-funded civilian research project and developed a popular refrigerator, while Tsunade arrived at the border camp on a mission.

• Jingyi revealed that the Puppet Crow was a puppet with no heartbeat and told Orochimaru he needed money.
• Orochimaru hurried to Konoha and asked the Third Hokage for funding to take over a civilian research project.
• Orochimaru joined the village's research and development base, where he developed a refrigerator that villagers quickly adopted.
• Jingyi laughed when he heard Orochimaru had turned to appliance development and hoped he would not abandon his other research.
• Tsunade returned to the border camp on a mission, and Jingyi asked whether Kushina's mood had improved.

Tsunade and Jingyi discussed Konoha’s political tensions and the possibility of conflict with Sunagakure before Tsunade worried that Jingyi’s Caged Bird Seal made him vulnerable. Jingyi revealed that the seal on his forehead had only been painted on and suggested his eyes had evolved rather than regressed.

• Tsunade told Jingyi that Utatane Koharu was trying to regain control of the Medical System and clear Shimura Danzō’s name.
• Tsunade said Konoha planned to respond to Sunagakure’s provocations in the Land of Rain, while Jingyi expected only minor clashes for now.
• Tsunade promised to act more cautiously because she had responsibilities to Nawaki, Kushina, and Jingyi, whose Caged Bird Seal left him vulnerable to the Hyuga Main Family.
• Jingyi prompted Tsunade to remove her forehead protector, and she discovered that the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead was gone.
• Jingyi explained that the seal had been painted on and suggested his eyes had evolved instead of regressed, leaving Tsunade stunned.

Jingyi told Tsunade that his Byakugan had evolved and the Caged Bird Seal was gone, while Konoha’s leaders continued planning to provoke Sunagakure and Iwagakure in the Land of Rain. The Third Kazekage rebuffed Hanzō of the Salamander’s attempt to secure Amegakure’s safety through cooperation, leaving Hanzō weighing other alliances.

• Jingyi revealed that his eyes had evolved and his Caged Bird Seal had vanished, prompting Tsunade to regret not knowing sooner.
• Shikaku Nara and Torifu Akimichi discussed Konoha’s plans, Torifu’s new authority, and Matsuda Sarutobi’s appointment as Jonin Corps Captain.
• Hanzō of the Salamander met the Third Kazekage at the Land of Rain border and complained that the Kazekage had arrived late.
• The Third Kazekage dismissed Hanzō’s request to keep Sunagakure out of the Land of Rain and challenged him to seek cooperation with Konoha if he wished.
• Hanzō threatened to approach Konoha, and the Third Kazekage warned that Iwagakure might enter the conflict.

As Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure sent shinobi into the Land of Rain, tensions rose into small clashes while Hanzō refused to submit to the Third Kazekage. The standoff remained limited, and Jingyi returned to Konoha for the New Year.

• Hanzō rejected the Third Kazekage's demands and left, unwilling to bow to the Five Kage.
• Tsunade returned to Konoha, which sent shinobi openly into the Land of Rain after Sunagakure's provocations.
• Iwagakure sent its own force into the Land of Rain, and friction among the three villages led to small battles and injured shinobi returning to the Border Camp.
• The conflict settled into a tense balance because none of the three sides wanted to risk being attacked by the others.
• At year's end, Jingyi returned to Konoha, bathed at a hot-spring inn, and ordered a large meal at an Akimichi barbecue restaurant.

Jingyi reunited with Kushina, Tsunade, and Nawaki over barbecue, comforting Kushina after Mito’s death and sharing stories from the border camp. Kushina invited friends, including Minato Namikaze and Mie, to Jingyi’s house the next day, then asked him not to frighten the timid Mie.

• Kushina rushed into Jingyi’s arms at the barbecue restaurant and cried that Grandma Mito was gone.
• Tsunade and Nawaki joined Jingyi and Kushina, and Jingyi comforted Kushina until she settled down.
• Jingyi distracted Kushina by teasing Nawaki about eating all the barbecue, then ordered more food.
• Jingyi and the others discussed Nawaki’s upcoming graduation while Tsunade mocked his boasting.
• Kushina invited Sister Mikoto, Little Blondie, and Mie to Jingyi’s house for barbecue the next day.
• Kushina asked Jingyi not to be angry with Mie because she was timid.

Jingyi returned to Konoha and discovered that Kushina had rebuilt his house as a surprise, where she, Tsunade, and Nawaki had been living after Mito Uzumaki's death. Tsunade discussed Nawaki's future training and Jingyi's summons, leaving her to reconsider Jiraiya as Nawaki's teacher and confess that the Slug Sage had warned her against learning Senjutsu.

• Kushina revealed that she had rebuilt Jingyi's house and planned to live there, while Tsunade explained that she and the children had moved in after Mito Uzumaki's death.
• Jingyi thanked Kushina for the house and sent her and Nawaki upstairs to rest, but Tsunade kept Nawaki from sneaking out because he had been peeking into a women's bathhouse with Jiraiya.
• Tsunade said the Hokage had asked her what to do about Nawaki, and Jingyi defended Jiraiya as a capable teacher who might help Nawaki earn Mount Myoboku's favor.
• Jingyi declined to sign a summoning contract with Katsuyu, and Tsunade admitted that the Slug Sage had told her learning Senjutsu would be dangerous because her talent was insufficient.