Chapter Summaries

After her father died in the First Shinobi World War, Yui Hyuga was demoted from the Main Family to the branch family and branded with the Caged Bird Seal. During the ceremony, Nai Hyuga was made to practice activating the seal on Yui, who pretended to suffer more than she did to help Nai and then feigned unconsciousness.

• The Hyuga elders demoted Yui Hyuga and branded her with the Caged Bird Seal, declaring that she would fulfill the branch family's duty of bearing children when she turned sixteen.
• An elder ordered Nai Hyuga to practice controlling the seal on Yui, and Nai reluctantly began the incantation.
• Yui realized Nai was easing the pain and screamed theatrically, prompting Nai to keep reducing the seal's intensity.
• The elder ended the practice after the children had endured it for some time, and Nai fled without looking back at Yui.
• Yui pretended to have fainted, and the branch family children were carried away on stretchers.

Yui Hyuga reflected on her Caged Bird Seal, her unusual Ōtsutsuki ancestry, and her plans to grow stronger and pursue immortality. She successfully molded chakra for the first time, but was then taken to a classroom for etiquette lessons.

• Yui reviewed how the Caged Bird Seal could destroy her eyes and thought she would need years to find a way to remove it.
• Yui recognized her pale skin as a sign of her Hyuga bloodline Returning to Ancestry and considered the possibility of awakening the Tenseigan.
• Yui meditated, combined physical and mental energy, and molded chakra successfully on her first attempt.
• A woman called Yui to etiquette lessons, used Byakugan to locate her, and carried her to the classroom.
• Yui arrived last and took a seat in the back row, intending not to pay attention.

Yui met Nai Hyuga, who apologized for their earlier encounter and asked to be her friend despite the clan’s division between Main Family and branch family. Nai recognized Yui’s wish to remove the Caged Bird Seal and offered to teach her how to mold chakra, leaving Yui to wonder why such a talented girl had never appeared in the original story.

• Nai Hyuga entered Yui’s lesson and watched her closely until Yui noticed her.
• Nai apologized for controlling Yui’s Cursed Seal, and Yui explained that she had only pretended to be hurt.
• Nai asked Yui to be her friend and said she wanted to end the division between the Main Family and branch family.
• Nai recognized Yui’s defiance and guessed that she wanted to remove the Caged Bird Seal.
• Nai pointed out that Yui’s chakra-molding method was wrong and invited her to meet at the Training Ground that night.
• Nai vanished with the Body Flicker Technique, leaving Yui impressed by her talent.

Yui met Nai Hyuga at the training ground, where Nai gave her the Hyuga Chakra Method and taught her Gentle Fist basics. After learning that the Second Hokage had been killed and Hiruzen Sarutobi had become Hokage, Yui asked Nai about the meaning of life and heard her belief that a person's will could live on after death.

• Yui failed to activate her Byakugan again and went to meet Nai at the training ground.
• Nai gave Yui an old book called the Hyuga Chakra Method, which could help her awaken her Byakugan.
• Nai began teaching Yui the basic Taijutsu of Gentle Fist, despite the Main Family elders forbidding them to practice it.
• After three hours of training, Yui asked Nai about recent events, and Nai told her the Second Hokage and Second Raikage had been killed and Hiruzen Sarutobi had become Hokage.
• Yui asked whether life was fragile, and Nai said that a person's will could endure after death.

Yui mastered the Byakugan and slipped out of the Hyuga Clan Compound to train, where she encountered a white-haired boy. He introduced himself as Hatake Sakumo, leaving Yui stunned.

• Nai Hyuga told Yui she would start at the Ninja Academy and promised to teach her what she learned there.
• Yui successfully activated her Byakugan and discovered that it gave her clear vision in the dark, long-range sight, and the ability to see through objects and view chakra pathways.
• Yui sneaked out of the Hyuga Clan Compound and went to the lake to practice chakra control.
• Yui spotted a white-haired boy training with a short sword and approached him, but he threw his sword toward her after noticing her in the bushes.
• Yui explained the misunderstanding, and the boy introduced himself as Hatake Sakumo, surprising her.

Yui Hyuga met Hatake Sakumo while training and learned he was using a Shadow Clone, then kept his abandoned sword. Meanwhile, Nai Hyuga persuaded Hyuga Feng to let Yui take an assessment for a chance to attend the Jonin Academy, which was set for that afternoon.

• Yui explained chakra control to Hatake Sakumo, who thanked her and asked whether she would attend the Jonin Academy, but she said she could not.
• Hatake Sakumo's Shadow Clone vanished before he could retrieve his sword, and Yui recognized the weapon and kept it for him.
• Yui practiced until dawn, improving her ability to stand on a tree trunk, then returned to the Hyuga Clan compound with the sword.
• Nai Hyuga asked Hyuga Feng to let Yui attend the Academy, saying Yui's Gentle Fist Taijutsu was nearly better than her own.
• Hyuga Feng agreed to submit a request if Yui passed his assessment that afternoon, but said she would have to return to the clan after graduating.

Nai Hyuga rescued Yui from punishment and told her she could earn a place at the Ninja Academy by passing Hyuga Feng's test, though she would still return to the branch family after graduating. Nai then arrived late to the Academy's welcome ceremony and found the Third Hokage still speaking.

• Hyuga Feng told Nai Hyuga not to be late for her first day at the Ninja Academy, while an elderly man questioned his decision to let her go.
• A middle-aged woman was about to strike the exhausted Yui Hyuga when Nai stopped her and said the clan head had ordered Yui to leave.
• Nai told Yui she could attend the Ninja Academy if she passed Hyuga Feng's test at the Training Ground that afternoon, but could not change Yui's fate after graduation.
• Yui thanked and hugged Nai, leaving Nai flustered by an unfamiliar feeling before she hurried away.
• Nai reached the Academy plaza near noon and found the Third Hokage still delivering his welcome speech to rows of students, many of whom had fallen asleep.

Yui took Hyuga Feng’s test for permission to attend the Ninja Academy and revealed that she had awakened the Byakugan. After she held her own against Ikuko Hyuga, Feng ended the test and told her to report to the academy the next day.

• Yui arrived at the Hyuga Clan’s Training Ground and asked Hyuga Feng to test her.
• Feng sent Ikuko Hyuga to fight Yui, and Ikuko overwhelmed her with fast taijutsu attacks.
• Yui activated her Byakugan, allowing her to read Ikuko’s movements and counter with Gentle Fist.
• Feng stopped the match, declared Yui’s test over, and told her to report to the Ninja Academy the next day.

Hyuga Feng secured Yui Hyuga a place at the Ninja Academy, while Danzo proposed creating Root and received Hiruzen Sarutobi’s tacit approval. That night, Hyuga Feng woke from a terrifying prophecy of white-skinned invaders destroying all life and went to question Sano about an experiment.

• Hyuga Feng asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to register six-year-old Yui Hyuga for the Ninja Academy after she awakened her Byakugan, and Hiruzen agreed.
• Danzo proposed forming Root under his command, and Hiruzen silently allowed him to proceed.
• Yui told Nai Hyuga about her assessment, received a pouch of ninja tools, and heard about the children Nai had met at the Academy.
• Hyuga Feng woke from a prophetic dream of white-skinned people descending on the shinobi world and wiping out all life.
• Hyuga Feng entered a secret chamber and asked Sano how the experiment was progressing.

A Hyuga clan leader demanded purer Byakugan research after recalling a vision, while Yui Hyuga joined the Ninja Academy class and met its future-famous students. Yui sat beside Nai Hyuga and listened to the first lesson as Nai fell asleep.

• The clan leader rejected the researchers' eighty-percent Byakugan purity limit and demanded at least ninety-nine percent, or ideally one hundred percent.
• Nai Hyuga parted from Yui at the Academy gate, and Yamada Hideko escorted Yui to meet her new class.
• Yamada Hideko introduced Yui to a class that included Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, Dan Katō, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Might Duy.
• Yui sat beside Nai Hyuga, who greeted her and then grew drowsy during the basic ninjutsu theory lesson.
• Yui stroked Nai Hyuga's hair until she fell asleep, while Yamada Hideko considered changing the lesson structure.

Yui answered a question in class, then went to eat with Nai Hyuga and returned Hatake Sakumo’s sword when he arrived with his childhood friend Sako. Yui wondered whether Sako might be Kakashi’s mother.

• Yamada Hideko called on Yui, who correctly answered a question about chakra flow and said she had awakened her Byakugan.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga left the Ninja Academy and went to a rice ball shop for lunch.
• Nai asked about the short sword Yui carried, and Yui said it belonged to Hatake Sakumo.
• Hatake Sakumo entered the shop with Sako, whom he introduced as his childhood friend.
• Yui returned Hatake Sakumo’s sword, and he thanked her for keeping it safe.

Hatake Sakumo gave Yui his spare chakra-metal sword, Wave Breaker, as a gesture of friendship, and Nai Hyuga scolded Yui for sneaking out at night and canceled their nightly training. At school, Yui struggled through a long running exercise, while Nai Hyuga and Tsunade kept going and Sako had to stop.

• Hatake Sakumo accepted his family heirloom sword from Yui and gave her his spare sword, Wave Breaker, as thanks and a gesture of friendship.
• Nai Hyuga asked Yui how she had met Hatake Sakumo, learned that Yui had sneaked out at night, and scolded her before canceling their nightly training.
• Yamada Hideko took the class outside and assigned running laps, throwing practice, and taijutsu sparring for credits.
• Yui ran behind Nai Hyuga, grew exhausted after several laps, and received help when Nai Hyuga slowed her pace.
• Sako stopped during her eleventh lap, and Hatake Sakumo hurried over to support her while Yui, Nai Hyuga, and Tsunade continued running.

Yui watched her classmates practice throwing shuriken, seeing Orochimaru score two bull's-eyes and Jiraiya miss every throw with his showy technique. Nai Hyuga also hit both targets, while Yui struck the target once and missed with her second shuriken.

• Yui recovered after completing the girls' run, and Yamada Hideko moved the class on to shuriken practice.
• Orochimaru hit the bull's-eye with both shuriken, impressing his classmates.
• Jiraiya boasted before throwing a shower of shuriken that all missed, and Yamada Hideko deducted one credit for his dangerous display.
• Tsunade, Hatake Sakumo, and other students demonstrated their throwing skills after Jiraiya.
• Nai Hyuga hit the bull's-eye twice, and Yui hit it once with her first throw and missed with the other.

Yui attended a training lesson, then secretly tested her chakra nature with leaves from a chakra tree. She discovered that she had wind, water, and lightning natures before heading home.

• Yamada Hideko taught Yui how to throw shuriken, then gathered the students for one-on-one training.
• Jiraiya prepared to fight Orochimaru, but a sudden downpour interrupted the duel and ended class early.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga sheltered from the rain, then went their separate ways as the weather eased.
• Yui entered the woods and tested her chakra using leaves from a chakra tree, nearly exhausting her chakra.
• Yui saw that the leaf split, wrinkled, and became wet, revealing her wind, lightning, and water chakra natures, then peeled bark from the tree before going home.

Hyuga Feng discussed his experiment to fuse Byakugan and planned to advance it in six years, while Yui taught Nai Hyuga ninjutsu and chakra nature testing. After Yui noticed someone hiding nearby, she used the Body Flicker Technique to investigate, and a scream came from behind the bushes.

• Hyuga Feng learned that Test Subject Six was developing normally and told Sano he wanted to begin the next experimental stage in six years.
• Yui successfully performed the Body Flicker Technique during training with Nai Hyuga at Training Ground Eleven.
• Yui demonstrated chakra paper and explained how it revealed a ninja’s chakra nature.
• Nai Hyuga’s chakra paper split and became damp, revealing wind and water natures, and Yui encouraged her.
• Yui noticed rustling in nearby bushes, pretended she needed more Body Flicker instruction, then vanished and heard a scream behind Nai Hyuga.
• Nai Hyuga activated her Byakugan and looked toward the bushes.

Yui caught Shizhong Ji spying on her and Nai Hyuga, then agreed to partner with him to produce and sell Chakra Paper. After he left, Nai learned that Yui could have asked her for money because she owned a flower shop and a shipyard.

• Yui found Shizhong Ji in the bushes and released him after he explained that he had fallen asleep while gathering herbs.
• Shizhong Ji recognized Yui's Chakra Paper as a way to test chakra nature and proposed producing and selling it together.
• Yui and Shizhong Ji signed a contract giving her thirty percent of the profits, and she gave him the instructions for making Chakra Paper.
• Shizhong Ji left after telling Yui to collect her monthly share from his paper shop on Konoha Twenty-Second Street.
• Yui told Nai Hyuga she was short on money, and Nai revealed that her father had left her a flower shop and a shipyard.

Six years after entering the Ninja Academy, Yui Hyuga and Nai Hyuga passed their Graduation Exam and received their ninja forehead protectors. Yamada Hideko sent the new graduates home with instructions to return the next morning for their team assignments.

• Yamada Hideko explained that the Graduation Exam required students to perform the Transformation, Clone, and Substitution Techniques.
• Nai Hyuga performed all three techniques smoothly, passed the exam, and chose a forehead protector with a dark blue band.
• Yui Hyuga passed by creating three clones, transforming into Yamada Hideko, and substituting her real body with a log, then chose a black-banded forehead protector.
• Yamada Hideko announced that those who failed would repeat the year and told the graduates to return the next morning to receive their new teachers from the Hokage.
• Yui took Nai's hand, and the two left together after Yamada Hideko said goodbye to her class.

Yui celebrated becoming a ninja with Nai Hyuga, then returned to her laboratory to investigate how to fool the Caged Bird Seal while pursuing immortality. Meanwhile, Hyuga Feng asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to keep two Hyuga graduates within the clan instead of assigning them to a jonin-led team.

• Yui startled Nai Hyuga by shocking her with Lightning Release chakra, then helped tie Nai's Forehead Protector after it fell off.
• Nai Hyuga said she was returning to help train the clan head's two sons, and Yui realized they were Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi.
• Yui went to her laboratory and prepared to test whether she could sever the Caged Bird Seal's ability to sense its host using a mouse marked with the seal.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi reviewed the graduating Genin list with Yamada Hideko and promised to assign an excellent jonin to the two outstanding Hyuga children.
• Hyuga Feng told Hiruzen Sarutobi that he wanted the two children to remain within the clan.

Hyuga Feng persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to keep Nai and Yui Hyuga out of the village's ninja squads by offering five branch-family sensory ninja to the ANBU. Meanwhile, Yui successfully removed a Caged Bird Seal from a mouse and left a clone in her laboratory to continue testing.

• Yamada Hideko argued that Nai and Yui Hyuga should join village ninja squads, but Hyuga Feng insisted they belonged to the Hyuga Clan.
• Hyuga Feng told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Nai was terminally ill and that he hoped Yui Hyuga would marry his four-year-old son, Hizashi Hyuga.
• Hyuga Feng offered five branch-family sensory ninja to the ANBU, and Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to keep the girls from joining squads.
• Yamada Hideko concealed herself outside the room and overheard Hyuga Feng and Hiruzen Sarutobi reach their agreement.
• Yui saw that the cursed seal had vanished from her test mouse and confirmed that her experiment had succeeded.
• Yui left a Shadow Clone in the laboratory to continue experiments, while the mouse watched her leave with an unreadable look.

Yui was ordered to marry Hizashi and confined by a sealing technique after she tried to leave, so she began seeking another way to escape. Meanwhile, Ikuko went to the training ground and summoned Nai to meet the clan head.

• Ikuko told Yui that the clan head had arranged for her to become Hizashi's wife and ordered her to stay home until he came of age.
• Yui packed her belongings to escape, but Ikuko sealed her inside her room with the Bottomless Sealing Technique.
• Yui failed to break the seal and, exhausted, resumed researching ninjutsu while relying on her Shadow Clone in the laboratory.
• Nai trained Hizashi and his twin, noting Hizashi's talent and resolving to grow stronger against the Caged Bird Seal.
• Ikuko arrived at the training ground and told Nai that the clan head wished to see her.