Chapter Summaries

Jingyi joined Kushina and the Senju family for dinner, while Mito Uzumaki’s invitation alarmed Konoha’s senior leadership. After Shimura Danzō challenged the Third Hokage, Hiruzen suspended Danzō from his Hokage Advisor position.

• Mito Uzumaki welcomed Jingyi to dinner, where Kushina excitedly told him about her school friends and Little Blondie.
• Tsunade scolded Kushina for calling the boy Little Blondie, and Mito Uzumaki was pleased to see Kushina growing happier with the family.
• Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzō confronted the Third Hokage about Mito Uzumaki inviting Jingyi to the Senju residence.
• Shimura Danzō accused Hiruzen of failing to control events, and Hiruzen rebuked him for letting ambition cloud his judgment.
• Hiruzen ordered Shimura Danzō to leave and suspended him from his Hokage Advisor position until he had reconsidered his actions.

After Shimura Danzō’s outburst in the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage visited Mito Uzumaki and reported what happened. Mito left Danzō’s Hokage advisor position vacant so he would remain at home, while she hoped Tsunade would spend more time with her.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura did not defend Shimura Danzō, so he glared at them and stormed out of the Hokage Office.
• The Third Hokage decided to visit Mito Uzumaki and settle the matters involving Jingyi Hyuga and the Hyuga Clan.
• Mito Uzumaki invited Jingyi to visit more often, and he agreed before leaving the Senju ancestral residence.
• The Third Hokage reported Danzō’s conduct to Mito, who told him to leave the Hokage advisor position vacant and said she wanted her granddaughter nearby.
• The Third Hokage told Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura that Danzō would stay home, and they laughed at his misfortune.

The Third Hokage secured Mito Uzumaki’s backing to seek more funding from the Daimyo’s Court after Shimura Danzō was ordered to rest at home. Jingyi received Orochimaru’s first shipment of materials, then Nawaki visited to proudly show off the lewd magazines he had secretly bought.

• The Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura agreed that Shimura Danzō should stay home, and the Hokage planned to visit the Daimyo’s Court with Mito Uzumaki’s letter to request more money.
• Tsunade spent more time at home with Mito Uzumaki and turned down many Medical Department classes.
• Jingyi returned home and found Orochimaru waiting with the first batch of materials; Jingyi inspected the goods and paid him nearly two million ryo.
• Nawaki visited Jingyi, shut the doors and windows, and proudly showed him the latest lewd magazines he had secretly bought with saved allowance.

Jingyi lectured Nawaki about reading dirty books, but Nawaki misunderstood his advice and kept reading. Tsunade caught Nawaki sneaking home with the book and made him hold up his schoolbag as punishment.

• Jingyi questioned Nawaki about the dirty book and told him to wait until he was grown up, but Nawaki concluded he should save money to support pretty big sisters with Jiraiya.
• Jingyi kicked Nawaki out after dinner, and Nawaki returned home cautiously, hoping no one would notice him.
• Tsunade stopped Nawaki, twisted his ear, and questioned him about where he had been; he admitted he had eaten at Jingyi's house.
• Tsunade slapped Nawaki after he glared at her, knocking the hidden book from his clothes.
• Tsunade found the book and learned that Jingyi had lectured Nawaki and kicked him out, then punished Nawaki by making him hold up his schoolbag.

Tsunade punished Nawaki for buying lewd books while Jingyi prepared Orochimaru’s materials and discussed who should teach Nawaki. After Jingyi argued that Jiraiya seemed more suitable than Orochimaru, Tsunade joined him for a successful operation and planned to visit his home to see his puppet.

• Tsunade sent Kushina back to her room, then punished Nawaki after Mito Uzumaki ordered her to discipline him.
• Jingyi spent the night processing animal materials from Orochimaru and arrived at the hospital exhausted.
• Tsunade told Jingyi she was considering making Orochimaru Nawaki’s teacher, but Jingyi recommended Jiraiya and warned her about Orochimaru.
• Jingyi assured Tsunade his lack of sleep would not affect their operation, and he assisted her through a successful surgery.
• Tsunade offered to buy groceries and visit Jingyi’s home to see the puppet he was making.

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.