Recaps

Ruri Hyuga, a transmigrated five-year-old member of the Hyuga Branch Family, trained his Gentle Fist on the Hokage Rock and reflected on his need to grow stronger. He left for Ichiraku Ramen as night fell over Konoha.

• Ruri recalled his past life as Nie Ruri and realized he had been reborn into the Hyuga Branch Family, marked as a caged bird.
• Ruri worried about the Hyuga Clan's future and resolved to get stronger to survive the dangers ahead.
• Ruri practiced the Gentle Fist and successfully performed Thirty-Two Palms, but lacked enough chakra for Sixty-Four Palms.
• Ruri ended his training at dusk and headed through Konoha's lively streets to eat Ichiraku Ramen.

Ruri visited Ichiraku Ramen, met Teuchi and Ayame, and enjoyed a bowl of tonkotsu chashu ramen. After leaving, he walked through Konoha beneath the moon and worried about the powerful events and threats awaiting him in the future.

• Ruri thought about Konoha’s brief postwar peace and the coming losses and conflicts he knew awaited the village.
• Ruri entered Ichiraku Ramen, ordered tonkotsu chashu ramen, and wondered whether Teuchi was the legendary Otsutsuki Ichiraku.
• Teuchi introduced his daughter Ayame, who greeted Ruri curiously and then helped prepare the meal.
• Ruri ate the ramen, paid the bill, and left the shop to stroll toward the outskirts of the village.
• Ruri looked at the moon and considered its connection to the Sage of Six Paths, the Ten-Tails, and Toneri Otsutsuki’s future power.

Ruri fought off a masked Uchiha attacker near the village outskirts, then discovered Might Guy training alone and studied his taijutsu. The chapter left Ruri determined to grow stronger and develop his own fighting style.

• Ruri spotted a masked person watching him and chased after him when he fled.
• The masked attacker fought Ruri, deflected his Gentle Fist strikes, and used Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique.
• Ruri threw a shuriken with an explosive tag, but the masked attacker escaped and promised they would meet again.
• Drawn by the sounds of training, Ruri found Might Guy practicing at a nearby training field.
• Ruri used his Byakugan to study Guy's Strong Fist techniques and recorded his movements, including the Konoha Whirlwind and Leaf Great Whirlwind.

Ruri returned home after secretly watching Might Guy train, then woke the next morning to a visit from Hizashi Hyuga. Hizashi urged him to accept the Branch Family’s fate and compete with Uchiha Itachi, while Ruri silently vowed to change his own destiny.

• Ruri returned to the Hyuga compound before he could be inspected at the gate, reflected on the day, and fell asleep.
• Ruri woke after a restless night, washed, and dressed in his Hyuga clan kimono.
• Hizashi Hyuga visited Ruri after returning from a mission and asked how his recovery was going.
• Hizashi told Ruri to accept the Caged Bird Seal and the Branch Family’s role, while Ruri silently resolved to change his fate.
• Hizashi told Ruri that Uchiha Itachi, a same-age genius who could already use Fire Release, would attend the Ninja Academy with him.
• Ruri agreed to work hard and not disgrace the Hyuga clan, though he privately feared competing with Itachi.

Ruri Hyuga hoped to become a top-tier powerhouse and sparred with his uncle Hizashi to test his Gentle Fist against a jonin. Hizashi was impressed by Ruri’s quick attacks and stopped treating the match as mere play.

• Hizashi encouraged Ruri and invited him to demonstrate his training.
• Ruri activated his Byakugan and struck at Hizashi with Gentle Fist, but Hizashi easily deflected the attack.
• Ruri used his momentum to launch a Roundhouse Kick, which Hizashi blocked and caught by the ankle.
• Ruri pivoted into another Gentle Fist attack, but Hizashi lifted him and sent him flipping through the air.
• Hizashi activated his Byakugan as Ruri landed and took a familiar stance.

Ruri surprised Hizashi by using Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms during their spar, despite being only five, and managed to seal one of Hizashi’s chakra points. Hizashi recognized Ruri’s remarkable Byakugan and talent but lamented that the branch family remained controlled by the Cursed Seal.

• Ruri launched Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and Hizashi countered with his Jonin-level Gentle Fist.
• Ruri’s strikes left his hands swollen, but one palm caught Hizashi off guard and sealed a chakra point.
• Hizashi realized Ruri’s Byakugan had reached the stage where he could see chakra pathways and points.
• Hizashi praised Ruri’s talent but regretted that he had been born into the branch family.
• Ruri told Hizashi that branch family members could surpass the Main Family through hard work, and Hizashi smiled in relief.

After discovering the Ring’s hidden interior, Ruri learned it could let him train and earn rewards, and he ate the Flame-Flame Fruit. He returned to the real world with a new power and an explanation for his rapid progress, while still planning to attend the Ninja Academy.

• Hizashi invited Ruri to dinner, but Ruri postponed the visit until tomorrow because he had errands to do.
• Ruri pressed a protrusion on the Ring and was transported to its secluded interior, where he read that he could train there to earn rewards.
• Ruri found a Flame-Flame Fruit and a Ninja Technique Encyclopedia, then ate the fruit and endured the pain as it took effect.
• The Ring explained its rest and training modes and told Ruri that his exceptional ability to learn, not the Ring, had let him master Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
• Ruri returned to the real world and reflected that he still needed to attend the Ninja Academy despite already mastering advanced Taijutsu at age five.

After discovering the Flame-Flame Fruit’s power, Ruri tested its fire and decided it could help him fight Jonin. He bought ninja tools and commissioned a copper training dummy, then set out to train somewhere private without revealing his new ability.

• Ruri used the Flame-Flame Fruit to create and throw a fireball, shattering a water jar and evaporating its contents.
• Ruri went to a ninja tool shop and ordered Ruowu, shuriken, Chakra Paper, and an adult-sized Copper Man based on his drawing.
• Ruri paid a deposit and arranged for the Copper Man to be delivered to the Hyuga Clan compound.
• Ruri returned home, put on his Ninja Tool Pouch, packed dry rations, and headed out to practice the Shadow Clone Technique, tree climbing, and water walking away from prying eyes.

Ruri went to a secluded ravine to discover his chakra natures and train with the Flame-Flame Fruit and basic ninja techniques. He confirmed he had wind and fire natures, then managed to master Water Walking after many attempts.

• Ruri found a secluded ravine beyond Hokage Rock and used chakra testing paper, which split and caught fire to reveal his wind and fire natures.
• Ruri tested the Flame-Flame Fruit by blasting a thick tree apart with a fireball, then extinguished the resulting flames.
• Ruri tried Water Walking on the stream, fell in on his first attempt, and continued practicing through the morning.
• Ruri successfully stood and walked on the water, attributing his quick progress to the Hyuga Clan's chakra control.

Ruri mastered water walking and tree climbing, then began practicing the Shadow Clone Technique after catching and cooking fish for lunch. His first clone appeared but lay limp on the ground, leaving him to realize that the technique would take more effort to learn.

• Ruri learned to walk across water and climb a tree using chakra control.
• Ruri caught fish from a stream, cooked them, and ate them for lunch.
• Ruri read a scroll explaining the Shadow Clone Technique and its hand seals.
• Ruri attempted the technique and created a limp clone that sprawled on the ground.

Ruri finally mastered the Shadow Clone Technique after hours of failures, then began testing the Flame-Flame Fruit’s power. He successfully used Fire Fist and realized he could develop the ability into even stronger techniques.

• Ruri failed dozens of times before producing a shadow clone that looked exactly like him.
• Ruri ordered the clone to practice tree climbing and water walking while he rested.
• Ruri reflected on the dangers of the world, including the Hyuga Clan’s Branch Family system and the future Uchiha Clan massacre, and resolved to grow stronger.
• Ruri used Fire Fist for the first time and blasted a hole through a large tree.
• Ruri conjured a small fireball, set a branch alight, and considered developing stronger Flame-Flame Fruit techniques.

Ruri tested the Flame-Flame Fruit’s Elementalization and continued training, then asked the Brat System when he could learn the Rasengan. After a long day, he returned home to sleep, looking forward to visiting Uncle Hizashi’s house the next day.

• Ruri cut through his wrist with Ruowu while turning it into flames, confirmed that it regrew, and considered the Flame-Flame Fruit’s vulnerability to Water Release.
• Ruri practiced his devil fruit abilities by the stream and entered the Ring’s rest mode to ask the Brat System about learning the Rasengan.
• The Brat System told Ruri that his wind and fire affinities suited the Rasengan and that he could begin learning it once he became a Genin.
• Ruri trained his ninjutsu until evening, then reflected on his ninja way and the future births of Naruto Uzumaki and the attack on Konoha.
• Ruri visited the top of Hokage Rock, then went home, ate, and fell asleep after planning to visit Uncle Hizashi’s house the next day.

Ruri visited Hizashi Hyuga's home, where he met the newborn Neji and shared a meal with Hizashi and Mei Ling. Hizashi told Ruri he would start at the Ninja Academy next year.

• Ruri arrived at Hizashi's home and was greeted by Mei Ling, who pinched his cheeks and brought him inside.
• Hizashi praised Ruri for learning the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and Mei Ling took him to meet baby Neji.
• Ruri greeted Neji and encouraged him to work hard and become strong.
• Ruri asked Hizashi about attending the Ninja Academy, and Hizashi said he would start there next year.

A year of intensive training had made Ruri far stronger, and he demonstrated his mastery of advanced Hyuga techniques and the Rasengan. He left the woods eager to reach the level of powerful techniques like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.

• Ruri practiced Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms on the Copper Man and damaged it beyond repair.
• Ruri used Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm to punch through a distant tree, then lamented that the technique was still too weak.
• Ruri's year of training with the Ring had raised his chakra reserves to chunin level and greatly improved his ninjutsu and Flame-Flame Fruit abilities.
• Ruri demonstrated his newly learned Rasengan by pressing it into a massive tree and bringing it down.

Ruri practiced his Rasengan before heading to Hizashi and Mei Ling’s home for dinner, where they talked about his upcoming Ninja Academy enrollment. He declined Hizashi’s offer to accompany him and left the family reassured that he could manage on his own.

• Ruri reflected on developing his Rasengan and used shadow clones to continue practicing before hurrying to dinner.
• Ruri arrived at Hizashi’s home and joined Hizashi, Mei Ling, and baby Neji for a warm meal.
• Hizashi asked Ruri about his upcoming enrollment at the Ninja Academy and offered to go with him.
• Ruri said he had prepared his documents and admission notice and could enroll by himself.
• Mei Ling teased Ruri about charming girls at the academy and pinched his cheek, making him blush.

Ruri prepared to begin at the Konoha Ninja Academy, hiding his Caged Bird Seal before leaving for the enrollment ceremony. After submitting his documents, he joined the crowd and waited for the Fourth Hokage’s speech.

• Hizashi Hyuga urged Ruri to study hard at the academy and make friends, and Ruri promised he would.
• Two days later, Ruri covered the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead with White Bandages, left breakfast and a note for Hizashi’s household, and set out for the academy.
• Ruri walked from the Hyuga Clan compound to the Konoha Ninja Academy and watched other children arrive with their parents.
• Ruri handed in his enrollment documents and wondered if Uchiha Itachi would attend.
• A ninja in a green vest called for quiet and announced that the Fourth Hokage would give a speech.

Ruri attended the Ninja Academy enrollment ceremony, where Minato Namikaze gave the students a speech and assigned him to Class Five. Ruri discovered that Uchiha Itachi was in his class and met his instructor, Asuma Sarutobi, leaving him curious to confirm whether Itachi had followed him before.

• Minato Namikaze welcomed the new students at the Ninja Academy enrollment ceremony.
• Minato assigned Ruri Hyuga to Class Five alongside Uchiha Itachi and Reika Hyuga.
• Ruri used his Byakugan to locate Itachi beside a man he identified as Uchiha Fugaku.
• Minato finished assigning the students to eight classes, and their instructors led them to their classrooms.
• Asuma Sarutobi introduced himself as Class Five's instructor, and Ruri sat beside Momokusa Harukawa.

Ruri and his classmates introduced themselves in Asuma Sarutobi’s class, including Uchiha Itachi, Momokusa Harukawa, and Reika Hyuga. The introductions revealed that Reika was Harukawa’s best friend and another member of the Hyuga Clan in Ruri’s class.

• Ruri introduced himself to Momokusa Harukawa, who shyly responded and blushed at his compliment.
• Asuma Sarutobi asked the students to introduce themselves, and Akagimaru shared his dream of joining Anbu.
• Uchiha Itachi gave a brief introduction and drew attention from his classmates.
• Ruri introduced himself and heard classmates speculate that he belonged to the Hyuga Clan’s Branch Family.
• Momokusa Harukawa and Reika Hyuga introduced themselves as best friends, and Reika said she hoped to become a kunoichi like Tsunade.
• Ruri realized Reika was another Hyuga in his class and thought she was very pretty.

After the entrance ceremony, Ruri went to the Back Mountain to practice Eight Trigrams Palm, then entered the Ring to train with the Rasengan. Completing the training objective earned him Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin, which he began studying and practicing.

• Reika invited Harukawa shopping, and Ruri declined before leaving the Academy for the Back Mountain.
• Ruri practiced Eight Trigrams Palm: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms on the Copper Man.
• Ruri entered the Ring and began a training objective to destroy ten wooden posts with the Rasengan.
• After an hour of practice, Ruri destroyed all ten posts and received Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin as his reward.
• Ruri rested, read the scroll, and began training in Heavenly Spin.

After gaining Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin, Ruri spent a warm evening with Hizashi Hyuga’s family and stayed overnight. The next morning, he went to the Ninja Academy with Reika Hyuga and Momokusa Harukawa, where Harukawa noticed him staring at her.

• Ruri returned home, found Mei Ling’s invitation to dinner, and went to Hizashi Hyuga’s house.
• Ruri helped Hizashi and Mei Ling prepare for dinner, then ate with them and Neji before staying the night.
• Ruri got up early, made breakfast for Hizashi, Mei Ling, and Neji, and set off for the Ninja Academy.
• Ruri met Reika Hyuga and Momokusa Harukawa on the way, and the three walked to school together.
• Ruri sat beside Momokusa Harukawa and stared at her until she blushed and asked why he was looking at her.

Ruri flirted with Momokusa Harukawa and teased Reika Hyuga during their first day of class, then joined them for an assessment at Training Ground One. After Asuma Sarutobi announced a ninja tool throwing test, Ruri examined the targets, including two that would be especially difficult to hit.

• Ruri teased Harukawa with compliments and made her blush, then embarrassed Reika Hyuga by pointing out that her seatmate was Uchiha Itachi.
• Asuma Sarutobi arrived after all thirty students had gathered and began the first lesson.
• Asuma Sarutobi announced a ninja tool throwing assessment and told the students to meet at Training Ground One in thirty minutes.
• Harukawa asked to go with Ruri, and Reika joined them, saying she wanted to see how well he could throw.
• Ruri and the two girls arrived at Training Ground One, where Ruri noticed that two targets were difficult to hit because they faced edge-on.

At Training Ground One, the students took a ninja tool throwing test, and Ruri Hyuga won first place with a perfect score. The chapter ended with Asuma Sarutobi announcing that the class would repeat the test every three months.

• Asuma Sarutobi explained the throwing test, and Uchiha Itachi scored ninety-six with ten shuriken.
• Akagimaru scored ninety-two, while Momokusa Harukawa and Reika Hyuga scored ninety and ninety-one.
• Ruri Hyuga threw ten Ruowu in a coordinated sequence, making them all strike the ten-point bull's-eye.
• Asuma Sarutobi announced Ruri's perfect score of one hundred and named him first place in Year One, Class Five.

After excelling at the ninja tool throwing test, Ruri became the top student in Class Five and made plans to eat with Reika Hyuga and Momokusa Harukawa. As Ruri headed for the School Gate, an argument on the Playground caught his attention and drew him away.

• Ruri amazed his classmates with his ninja tool throwing and became the top student in Class Five.
• Reika Hyuga and Momokusa Harukawa praised Ruri, and he teased Harukawa while they talked at school.
• Reika invited Ruri and Harukawa to eat with her and Akagimaru the next day, and Harukawa suggested finding a restaurant on Main Street.
• Ruri left the classroom and headed toward the School Gate, but turned toward the Playground after hearing an argument.

Ruri watched Uchiha and Hyuga children fight in the Playground, where the Hyuga pair gained an advantage. Uchiha Itachi arrived after hearing the Hyuga children insult his clan, and the confrontation was poised to continue.

• Ruri noticed Uchiha Jin and another Uchiha arguing with Tokuma Hyuga and Hyuga Takashi while Reika Hyuga and Momokusa Harukawa tried to calm them.
• The two Uchiha children and two Hyuga children began fighting, and the Hyuga pair gained a slight advantage with their Taijutsu.
• Tokuma Hyuga boasted that the Hyuga Clan was stronger and that the Uchiha Clan was nothing special.
• Uchiha Itachi stepped forward, saying he could not ignore the insult to his clan, while Uchiha Jin and his companion recognized him as their clan's genius.
• One of the Hyuga children challenged Itachi, saying he was only a kid like them.

Uchiha Itachi quickly defeated two Hyuga children who had challenged his clan’s honor. As Itachi tried to leave, Ruri blocked his way and challenged him to a fight.

• Ruri watched as Tokuma Hyuga and Hyuga Xiang attacked Uchiha Itachi.
• Itachi evaded their strikes and defeated both Hyuga children with a few blows and a shoulder throw.
• The onlookers praised Itachi, while Chunin teachers watched without intervening.
• Itachi told the defeated children not to sully the Uchiha Clan’s name and turned to leave.
• Ruri stopped Itachi and challenged him to test the strength of the Uchiha prodigy.