Chapter Summaries

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru learned from an injured scout toad that Kumogakure ninja and a sensory barrier protected the enemy camp. After deciding to gather more intelligence before attacking, they sent Rock Snake underground to investigate.

• Jiraiya sent a little toad to scout the enemy camp, but it was detected and returned badly injured.
• Tsunade healed the toad, which reported Kumogakure ninja at the camp and a sensory barrier extending five hundred meters around it.
• Orochimaru warned that the six rogue ninja might have joined Kumogakure and could expose Konoha's classified information.
• Jiraiya proposed destroying the barrier and tried to burrow underground, but Orochimaru stopped him for acting before they had enough intelligence.
• Orochimaru summoned Rock Snake and sent it underground to investigate.

Orochimaru learned that Kumogakure and Konoha rogue ninja were arguing at a camp and infiltrated it to assassinate the barrier-maintaining ninja. An explosion exposed a Konoha ninja emerging from the tent, leaving the Kumogakure ninja facing an apparent ANBU attack.

• Rock Snake reported that ten people were at the camp, including four Kumogakure ninja and a woman maintaining a Sensory Barrier.
• Orochimaru told Tsunade and Jiraiya what he had learned, then decided to sneak in alone and kill the barrier ninja.
• The Konoha rogue ninja accused the Kumogakure ninja of breaking their promise to take them in, then decided to flee to the Land of Iron.
• The Kumogakure captain realized Tatsuya was missing from the tent and suspected Konoha's ANBU had infiltrated the camp.
• A Kumogakure ninja pulled back the tent flap, and Tatsuya's body flew out before explosions and explosive-tagged Kunai erupted from the tent.
• A ninja wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector emerged from the smoke, and the Kumogakure ninja wondered if it was ANBU.

Jiraiya and Tsunade attacked the rogue Konoha ninja, with Tsunade defeating the brown-haired Jonin while Jiraiya fought two others. The chapter ended as Jiraiya used Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld against his wounded opponents.

• The rogue Konoha ninja split up to escape, but Jiraiya's Great Flame Bullet struck them and kunai finished off a wounded Chunin.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade appeared and recognized that they needed to defeat their opponents quickly so they could help Orochimaru.
• Tsunade fought the brown-haired Jonin, broke his arm, and killed him with a kunai to the heart.
• Jiraiya defended himself from the two remaining Jonin with an Earth-Style Wall and then used Swamp of the Underworld.

Jiraiya and Tsunade defeated two Jonin who had defected, then rushed to Orochimaru and found him gravely wounded after a battle with four Jonin. Tsunade began treating his deep wound and summoned help.

• Jiraiya trapped two Jonin in a swamp and attacked them with Fire Release while they defended themselves with water techniques.
• Tsunade joined Jiraiya, and they coordinated their attacks to trap and defeat the two Jonin.
• Tsunade killed the Jonin, sealed their bodies in separate scrolls, and left with Jiraiya to find Orochimaru.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade found Orochimaru badly wounded beside three corpses, and Tsunade began healing him.
• Tsunade bit her thumb and used the Summoning Technique to seek further aid.

Tsunade and Katsuyu treated Orochimaru, who woke with no memory of defeating the Kumogakure ninja and realized someone else had attacked them. Back in Konoha, Hyuga Feng reported a Kumogakure infiltrator who tried to steal the Byakugan, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to order tighter security and an investigation.

• Tsunade summoned Katsuyu, and they treated Orochimaru until he was out of danger.
• Jiraiya gave Tsunade four scrolls containing the Kumogakure bodies, and Orochimaru woke up confused about what had happened.
• Orochimaru examined the bodies and recognized that the wounds on three of them had not been caused by his attacks.
• Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru decided to return to Konoha so Orochimaru could be examined at the hospital.
• Hyuga Feng told Hiruzen Sarutobi that a Kumogakure ninja had infiltrated the Hyuga Clan to steal the Byakugan and showed him the corpse.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Shinya to strengthen Konoha's barrier and have ANBU investigate suspicious people in the village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi recovered a hidden scroll from a corpse and welcomed Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru back from their mission. After hearing how Orochimaru defeated three Kumogakure jonin and lost his memory, he promoted all three to jonin and offered each of them two A-rank ninjutsu.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi extracted a sealed scroll from the corpse and sent a white-haired ANBU member to have it decoded and dispose of the body.
• Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru returned to Konoha and agreed to celebrate their successful mission with a meal.
• Orochimaru wondered who had saved him, while Jiraiya offered to take him to the hospital for a checkup.
• The three reported their mission to Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Jiraiya described Orochimaru's battle against the Kumogakure jonin and his memory loss.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi examined the eight bodies, praised the team for completing the S-rank mission, and made them Konoha's newest jonin.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that each of them could choose two A-rank ninjutsu from the ninjutsu vault.

Tsunade agreed to help Katsuyu summon Yui from Shikkotsu Forest, while Hiruzen learned Orochimaru had not killed three of the Kumogakure ninja and suspected a plot. In Shikkotsu Forest, Katsuyu suppressed Yui’s Caged Bird Seal, then began another technique after the seal vanished.

• Hiruzen assigned Jiraiya and Orochimaru to the Combat Mission Department and Tsunade to Konoha Hospital.
• Katsuyu told Tsunade about Yui Hyuga and asked for chakra to summon her to Konoha, and Tsunade agreed to help.
• Orochimaru told Hiruzen he had not killed three of the Kumogakure ninja, and Hiruzen examined their bodies and suspected a Kumogakure scheme.
• Katsuyu used her Ninjutsu to suppress and remove the Caged Bird Seal on Yui’s forehead.
• Katsuyu activated another Ninjutsu and let white mist settle over Yui’s head.

Katsuyu failed to remove Yui’s Caged Bird Seal, but the seal returned much weaker, leaving only a small cross on her forehead. Yui learned she could return to Konoha in two days, and Katsuyu gave her a mysterious scroll to open in private.

• Katsuyu attempted to remove Yui’s Caged Bird Seal, but it reformed after Yui woke up.
• Yui found that the seal was weaker, with its horizontal lines nearly gone, and thanked Katsuyu.
• Katsuyu refused Yui’s idea to repeat the dangerous procedure.
• Katsuyu told Yui she could return to Konoha in two days, and Yui wished Nai well.
• Katsuyu gave Yui an ancient black scroll and told her to look at it when she was alone.

Mito Uzumaki found Tsunade drunk and unconscious in a corridor, and Nawaki dragged his sister back to her room despite being kicked by her. After Tsunade was settled, Katsuyu told Mito she needed Tsunade’s help, and Mito offered to help instead.

• Katsuyu called for help when Tsunade passed out in the Senju Clan Compound corridor, and Mito Uzumaki found them.
• Mito fetched Nawaki, who tried to drag Tsunade to her room and was kicked into a wall by his unconscious sister.
• Nawaki dragged Tsunade to her room, and Mito covered her with a blanket.
• Katsuyu told Mito she needed Tsunade’s help, and Mito volunteered to help her instead.

Katsuyu asked Mito Uzumaki to provide enough chakra to summon two people from Shikkotsu Forest, and Mito agreed. To power the summoning, Mito drew chakra from the Nine-Tails, who reminded her that her life was nearing its end and asked whether she had found the next jinchūriki.

• Katsuyu told Mito Uzumaki she needed help summoning her friend and a Konoha ninja from Shikkotsu Forest.
• Mito Uzumaki agreed to supply chakra, and Katsuyu warned that the summoning would require as much as calling her main body.
• Mito Uzumaki entered her consciousness and told the Nine-Tails she needed to borrow his chakra.
• Mito Uzumaki used Adamantine Sealing Chains to draw chakra from the Nine-Tails.
• The Nine-Tails taunted Mito Uzumaki about her nearing death and asked whether she had found the next jinchūriki, and Mito considered that it was time to find one.

Mito Uzumaki summoned Shobue and Yui Hyuga to Konoha, where Yui realized she had returned and immediately flew off to find Nai Hyuga. Shobue was left behind with Mito after Yui disappeared.

• Mito Uzumaki used Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and her own chakra to power a huge summoning formation.
• Shobue appeared with Yui Hyuga, covered Yui’s mouth, and told her to call her Shobue from then on.
• Shobue introduced herself as a guest elder of Shikkotsu Forest and Yui as Katsuyu’s summoning contractor to Mito Uzumaki.
• Yui learned she was in Konoha and flew away to find Nai Hyuga.
• Shobue cursed at Yui’s reckless departure as Mito Uzumaki choked on the dust and sensed Yui vanish from range.

After escaping the courtyard, Yui used a new mental-power concealment technique to evade Konoha's curfew patrol and changed her appearance. While heading toward the Hyuga compound to search for Nai, she encountered an ANBU burying someone and accidentally revealed her presence.

• Mito Uzumaki left to fetch the Third Hokage to welcome Shobue, while Katsuyu reassured Shobue that Mito no longer suspected her identity.
• Yui landed on Konoha's main street and hid from the Uchiha Konoha Guard Force enforcing curfew, with a stray cat drawing their attention away.
• Yui used the Shape Concealment Technique from Shobue's scroll to transform her appearance and conceal her presence without using chakra.
• Yui set off toward the Hyuga Clan Compound to look for Nai and spotted an ANBU erecting a gravestone in the woods.
• Yui accidentally dislodged a pebble, and the ANBU called out, "Who's there..."

Yui encountered Hatake Sakumo while sneaking toward the Hyuga Clan Compound, then searched for Nai Hyuga and found her room abandoned. The chapter left Yui watching Hizashi Hyuga and Hyuga Hiashi, hoping they could tell her where Nai was.

• Hatake Sakumo confronted Yui, who identified him and explained that a friend had given her Wave Breaker.
• Hatake Sakumo let Yui go, then called after her to ask whether she knew where Yui Hyuga was.
• Yui evaded him and sneaked into the Hyuga Clan Compound before dawn.
• Yui searched Nai Hyuga’s dusty, ruined room and the Training Ground but found no sign of her.
• Yui hid in the Training Ground when Hizashi Hyuga and Hyuga Hiashi passed by, and considered asking them about Nai.

Shobue met Hiruzen Sarutobi in Konoha and invented a story about Tsunade reaching Shikkotsu Forest to explain her arrival. Meanwhile, Yui’s dizziness and fatigue worsened as she followed the young Hyuga brothers and seized an opening to approach them.

• Mito Uzumaki brought Hiruzen to meet Shobue, a guest retainer from Shikkotsu Forest.
• Shobue told Hiruzen that Tsunade had accidentally summoned herself to Shikkotsu Forest while drunk, and Hiruzen believed her explanation.
• Hiruzen offered to arrange a place for Shobue to stay and led her toward the Hokage’s Office.
• Yui endured dizziness, weakness, and fatigue as she followed Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga.
• Hiashi led Hizashi into an alley to avoid being late and revealed that he had noticed someone following them.
• Hiashi suddenly tugged at Hizashi’s hand as they walked through the alley.

Yui questioned Hiashi and Hizashi about Nai Hyuga, learning that Ikuko Hyuga had taken Nai away a year earlier. Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi arranged a house for Shobue and reprimanded Danzo for barging into his office.

• Yui stopped Hiashi and Hizashi and offered them candy in exchange for information about Nai Hyuga.
• Hiashi and Hizashi said they had not seen Nai in a year and recalled that Ikuko Hyuga had taken her away during a Gentle Fist lesson.
• A Hyuga Ninja attacked Yui, who escaped with the Body Flicker Technique and decided to search Hyuga Feng's room for clues.
• Shobue chose a quiet house in Konoha, and Hiruzen Sarutobi sent an ANBU to show her there.
• Danzo burst into the Hokage's Office, and Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered him to mind his decorum.
• Danzo apologized to Hiruzen Sarutobi and explained that he had come to discuss beginning the operation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Danzo for reading classified intelligence, then agreed to let him move against Hyuga Feng that night while keeping the Hokage’s ANBU uninvolved. Elsewhere, Shobue sensed that Yui might be using a dangerous technique and hurried to find her.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi angrily challenged Danzo’s authority after learning he had read classified intelligence, but relented because he felt he owed Danzo.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo reviewed the intelligence about Hyuga Feng’s Byakugan and agreed to act before it reached its final stage of evolution.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ruled that the Hokage’s ANBU would not participate, and Danzo began preparing to act that night.
• Shobue noticed the ANBU watcher outside her room, then sensed Yui’s location and worried that she had used a dangerous ninjutsu.
• Shobue left the room and hurried out to find Yui.

Yui broke into a room in search of information about Nai Hyuga and hid in a secret passage when Hyuga Feng and Ikuko Hyuga arrived. She overheard that a woman was still alive inside the Byakugan Water Mirror sphere and moved deeper into the passage, fearing she had discovered the truth about someone she knew.

• Yui searched the room for information about Nai Hyuga, found Hyuga Gentle Fist manuals, and took them.
• When Hyuga Feng and Ikuko Hyuga entered, Yui slipped through a hidden door into a secret passage.
• Yui overheard Ikuko tell Hyuga Feng that the new Laboratory was nearly ready, but the Byakugan crystal sphere could not be moved while its living occupant remained inside.
• Hyuga Feng ordered Ikuko to deal with the woman and warned her not to damage the Byakugan he planned to fuse.
• Yui recognized clues about the woman in the sphere and forced herself to continue into the darkness of the passage.

Yui found Nai Hyuga trapped inside a crystal sphere filled with Byakugan eyes and confronted Ikuko Hyuga as she tried to kill her. Yui began her first battle with Wave Breaker, but Ikuko blocked her opening attacks with Rotation.

• Yui entered the Laboratory and hid as Ikuko Hyuga approached Nai Hyuga’s crystal sphere.
• Ikuko activated the Control Panel and raised Nai Hyuga toward the sphere’s opening to kill her.
• Yui intercepted Ikuko’s senbon with a kunai and emerged to demand that she explain what she had done to Nai.
• Ikuko sealed Nai back inside the sphere, and Yui drew Wave Breaker and activated her Byakugan.
• Yui attacked with Wind Release: Gale Palm and a Body Flicker slash, but Ikuko used Rotation to block both attacks.

Yui Hyuga destroyed the crystal sphere in the Laboratory and freed Nai Hyuga before fighting Ikuko Hyuga. After outmaneuvering Ikuko and killing her, Yui identified herself as Yui Hyuga.

• Yui sent a powerful Water Release technique into the crystal sphere, breaking it open and freeing Nai Hyuga.
• Yui stopped Ikuko from reaching Nai and challenged her over old and new debts.
• Yui and Ikuko clashed with their weapons, and Ikuko attacked with Eight Trigrams: Air Palm.
• Ikuko struck a Shadow Clone with Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, but Yui’s own Shadow Clone had fooled her.
• Yui stabbed Ikuko through the chest, and, as Ikuko asked who she was, Yui said, "I am Yui Hyuga."

Yui defeated Ikuko Hyuga, who accepted her death and gave Yui an extraordinary Byakugan for Nai Hyuga. Yui sent Nai to Shikkotsu Forest for treatment and began gathering the Byakugan from the laboratory before planning her escape.

• Ikuko Hyuga said fate had destined her death, but Yui argued that fate was the result of people’s choices and pulled the kunai from Ikuko’s body.
• After reconsidering her beliefs, Ikuko removed one of her Byakugan and gave it to Yui as compensation for Nai Hyuga, then died.
• Yui summoned Katsuyu to treat Nai, but Katsuyu could only keep her alive and took her to Shikkotsu Forest so Shobue could seek a cure.
• Yui received her Shadow Clone’s memories and learned that Hyuga Feng outside had not noticed the fight because the laboratory was soundproof.
• Yui summoned several Shadow Clones to collect the Byakugan scattered across the laboratory.