Chapter Summaries

Shihōin Naraku watched Sasuke Uchiha leave Konoha and awaited the return of Hyuga Hiashi and Hanabi Hyuga. That night, Otsutsuki Toneri ordered an attack to obtain the eyes he needed, and Neji Hyuga spotted the attackers’ barrage as the Hyuga group traveled home.

• Shihōin Naraku observed Sasuke Uchiha depart with the Reconnaissance Squad and reflected on his efforts to settle Sasuke back into Konoha.
• Otsutsuki Toneri sent his subordinates to seize the eyes he needed to awaken the Tenseigan and carry out his plan to destroy the world.
• Hyuga Hiashi, Hanabi Hyuga, Neji Hyuga, and the others left the Land of Water after Kaguya Takeori’s clan escorted them, and Hiashi explained that Takeori was dying from a severe kekkei disease.
• Neji Hyuga warned the group of an enemy attack as yellow spheres of light rained down on them.

Hyuga Hiashi, Neji Hyuga, Hanabi Hyuga, and their guards were ambushed by thirteen Ōtsutsuki puppets, leaving most of the group injured and forcing Hanabi to fire an A-rank distress signal. Yamanaka Kazumasa identified the signal as Hyuga Clan code and mobilized two teams to respond.

• Hyuga Hiashi and Neji Hyuga used Rotation to shield the group from the puppets’ explosive yellow orbs, while a branch family ninja was knocked unconscious.
• A masked puppet with poisoned blades wounded another guard, who soon collapsed, and Hiashi reached Hanabi and protected her with Rotation.
• More puppets surrounded the group, and another guard was injured as Hiashi and Neji struggled to defend Hanabi and conserve their chakra.
• Hiashi ordered Hanabi to fire a distress signal, and she launched a purple A-rank flare into the sky.
• Yamanaka Kazumasa recognized the signal as a call for help from the Hyuga Clan and ordered Teams One and Two to assemble while Team Three guarded the watchtower.

Yamanaka Kazumasa led six elite ninja toward Hyuga Hiashi’s distress signal as Hiashi and his group struggled against a growing army of puppets. Neji, Hanabi, and Hiashi were injured and running low on chakra while Hiashi began to suspect the puppets’ origin.

• Yamanaka Kazumasa dismissed his deputy’s warning and led six elite ninja toward the purple flare to rescue Hyuga Hiashi.
• Hiashi and the others fought off waves of nimble puppets, but their chakra dwindled and Hanabi was wounded.
• Hiashi noticed the moon emblem on the lead puppet and recalled a secret that suggested where the puppets came from.
• Neji was injured by an explosion and a melee puppet, while Hanabi warned him of an attack from his right.
• Neji observed that the lead puppet anticipated Hiashi’s Gentle Fist, and five melee puppets moved to attack Neji, Hanabi, and the injured branch-family ninja.

Neji and Hanabi struggled to survive the puppets’ coordinated assault while Hiashi tried to reach them, but the battle worsened as a Hyuga Branch Family jonin was gravely wounded. The chapter ended with the remaining puppets regrouping around Neji and Hanabi before a sudden explosion struck.

• Neji warned Hanabi not to attack the puppets and tried to hold them off while waiting for reinforcements.
• Neji and a Hyuga Branch Family ninja destroyed another puppet, but four others pressed their attack.
• Hiashi broke away from the moon-marked puppet to rescue Neji, but its energy blast and the other puppets blocked his path.
• A puppet stabbed the Hyuga Branch Family ninja in the shoulder, and poison began discoloring the wound.
• The remaining puppets withdrew into a ring around Neji and Hanabi as an explosion suddenly erupted.

Hiashi, Neji, and Hanabi fought the Ōtsutsuki puppets, but the moon-marked puppet overwhelmed them and captured Hanabi. Hiashi struggled to reach his daughter as memories of Hinata’s abduction and his younger brother’s death resurfaced.

• The moon-marked puppet blasted Hiashi through several trees, leaving him gravely injured, while other puppets pinned him down.
• Neji threw himself between Hanabi and the puppet’s next blast, taking the explosion across his back as he shielded her.
• The puppets attacked Neji until one struck Hanabi unconscious and lifted her by the collar.
• Hiashi broke free and charged toward Hanabi, but three puppets blocked him and delayed his advance.
• Hiashi remembered the Cloud Ninja’s abduction of Hinata and how it had led to his younger brother’s death.

Hiashi fought to keep the puppets from taking Hanabi, but the poisoned Neji fell unconscious and a moon-marked puppet escaped with her. Konoha reinforcements defeated the remaining puppets and carried Hiashi and the other wounded back to the outpost, while Yamanaka Kazumasa wondered where the puppeteer had gone.

• Hiashi attacked the three puppets, but they held him back while the moon-marked puppet carried Hanabi into the woods and out of his Byakugan's range.
• Neji collapsed from the poison, and Hiashi continued fighting as the poison in his own wounds weakened him.
• Hiashi destroyed one puppet with an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, then spotted the approaching border Defense Force and collapsed as the reinforcements arrived.
• Yamanaka Kazumasa ordered the Konoha ninja to destroy the three remaining damaged puppets and secure the battlefield.
• A medical ninja found Hiashi severely wounded and poisoned, so Yamanaka Kazumasa ordered the wounded taken to the outpost and two ninja left to search the area.
• Yamanaka Kazumasa surveyed the puppet fragments and questioned where the puppeteer had gone.

Yamanaka Kazumasa brought the unconscious Hiashi, Neji, and the other wounded to a border outpost, unaware that Hanabi had been abducted and that the chance to rescue her had passed. Poisoning and severe injuries left their survival dependent on urgent reinforcements, while a message about the attack reached Tokuma Hyuga.

• Yamanaka Kazumasa found no trace of the Puppet Master and ordered his team to carry the wounded to the outpost and search the battlefield.
• Yamanaka Kazumasa and his ninja left Hanabi behind without realizing she had been abducted.
• Yamanaka Kazumasa ordered the outpost medical ninja to treat the wounded and request poison specialists, but they could only suppress the unknown toxins.
• A ninja hawk delivered news of the attack to Tokuma Hyuga, who was shocked to learn Hiashi had been attacked.

Tokuma Hyuga realized Hanabi Hyuga was missing after an attack on the Hyuga party and reported the emergency to Konoha. He raised the border defenses and waited for the Hokage’s orders and medical support.

• Tokuma Hyuga noticed that the report did not account for Hanabi Hyuga and concluded that the enemy had likely abducted her.
• Tokuma Hyuga contacted Konoha and reported the attack, the party’s serious injuries and poisoning, Hanabi’s disappearance, and the need for medical ninja.
• Tokuma Hyuga suspected the attackers were unusually capable and might have another motive beyond taking the Byakugan.
• Tokuma Hyuga ordered all border forces to raise their alert levels, expand patrols and reconnaissance, and send teams to support Outpost Three.
• Tokuma Hyuga stayed at his post, watching the border and waiting for the Hokage’s decision as the injured Hyuga party awaited help.

Shihōin Naraku assembled a six-person squad to investigate the attack on Hyuga Hiashi’s party and search for the missing Hanabi Hyuga. He sent Hinata Hyuga, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Shikamaru Nara toward the border to treat the injured, find Hanabi, identify the enemy, and eliminate them.

• Shihōin Naraku learned that Hyuga Hiashi’s party had been attacked near the Land of Fire Border and suspected Otsutsuki Toneri was responsible for abducting Hanabi Hyuga.
• Shihōin Naraku summoned Hinata Hyuga, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Shikamaru Nara for an emergency mission.
• Shihōin Naraku told the squad that Hyuga Hiashi, Neji Hyuga, and others were severely injured and poisoned, while Hanabi Hyuga was missing.
• Shikamaru Nara reviewed the Intelligence Scroll and learned that the attackers had left unusual puppet fragments and used an unknown toxin that defeated the outpost’s antidotes.
• Shihōin Naraku assigned Sakura Haruno to prioritize treating the injured and ordered the squad to search for Hanabi Hyuga, investigate the enemy, and eliminate them.

Naraku sent Shikamaru and five others on an S-rank mission to reinforce Number Nine Outpost after an enemy attacked the Hyuga and abducted Hanabi. The team reached the outpost at night and was met by Tokuma Hyuga.

• Naraku appointed Shikamaru team leader and ordered the six ninja to follow his tactical decisions; Hinata agreed to go help find Hanabi.
• Sakura gathered medical supplies while the others assembled at Konoha's main gate, and Shikamaru considered how the enemy had evaded the Byakugan and why they had taken Hanabi.
• Shikamaru led the team toward the border at full speed, assigning Naruto to scout ahead and telling Hinata to conserve her chakra by deactivating her Byakugan.
• The six traveled through the night and met a Konoha patrol team, which confirmed their identities and guided them toward Number Nine Outpost.
• Shikamaru's team arrived at Number Nine Outpost, where Tokuma Hyuga was waiting for them.

After reaching Outpost Three, Sakura treated the poisoned Hyuga while Hinata learned that Hanabi was missing. With Sakura preparing an antidote, Shikamaru led the others to investigate the enemy’s trail, and Hinata joined them to help search for her sister.

• Tokuma Hyuga confirmed that Hanabi had been abducted and that Hiashi and the others had been found unconscious.
• Shikamaru’s squad reached Outpost Three, where Hinata used her Byakugan to check on her father and Neji but could not find Hanabi.
• Sakura examined Hiashi and discovered that an unknown poison was spreading through the Hyuga patients’ bodies.
• After an hour of treatment, Sakura found a way to counteract the poison and began preparing an antidote.
• Shikamaru decided to investigate the battlefield, and Hinata persuaded him to let her join the search with her Byakugan.

Shikamaru Nara questioned Yamanaka Kazumasa and examined unfamiliar puppet fragments, but the search for Hanabi Hyuga had yielded no leads. He took the team to the battlefield, where they split up to search while Naruto was assigned to protect Hinata.

• Shikamaru asked Yamanaka Kazumasa about the attack, and Kazumasa explained where it happened and how the puppets had attacked Hiashi and the others.
• Shikamaru and Tenten examined the puppet fragments and concluded that their material and craftsmanship differed from Sunagakure's puppets.
• Kazumasa reported that the outpost had found no trace of Hanabi or the enemy's escape route, so Shikamaru ordered the team to search the battlefield area.
• Shikamaru's group reached the battlefield, and he sent Shihōin Genya to contact the other scouts while he, Rock Lee, and Tenten searched nearby.
• Shikamaru paired Hinata with Naruto, asking him to protect her as they searched for the enemy.

Shikamaru and the others searched the battlefield and surrounding area for Hanabi and the attackers, but found no decisive clues. Suspecting the enemy had fled toward the Land of Water, Shikamaru redirected the search south while Hanabi remained missing.

• Tenten examined the cleanly severed tree, while Rock Lee identified footprints left by the Konoha Defense Force.
• Hinata searched with her Byakugan but found neither suspicious chakra nor Hanabi, and Naruto’s Sage Mode sensing also failed to locate her.
• Shihōin Genya reported that search teams had found suspicious trails to the north and east, while southern traces might point toward the Land of Water.
• Shikamaru and Rock Lee considered whether Kirigakure was responsible, though Shikamaru doubted it and remained troubled by the attackers’ puppet tactics.
• Shikamaru told the search teams to focus on the south, then asked Naruto and Hinata whether they had found anything; both said they had not.

Shikamaru, Naruto, and Hinata searched for the abducted Hanabi but found no solid clues, and Hinata exhausted herself keeping her Byakugan active. Back at Outpost Three, Rock Lee reported that he had encountered a Kirigakure patrol while searching along the border.

• Shikamaru ruled out an immediate trip to Kirigakure and sent Naruto and Hinata toward Konoha while he investigated nearby.
• After hours of searching, Naruto suggested the enemy might have used Space-Time Ninjutsu, but Shikamaru doubted the puppets could use it.
• Hinata nearly collapsed from overusing her Byakugan, so Naruto caught her and Shikamaru decided they should return to Outpost Three.
• At the outpost, Tenten said the other search teams had found traces but no solid lead, and that Rock Lee had gone toward the Land of Water border.
• Rock Lee returned and told Shikamaru that he had encountered a Kirigakure patrol while searching south along the border.

As the search for Hanabi produced no leads, Hyuga Hiashi awoke and told Shikamaru, Naruto, and Hinata that autonomous puppets had attacked his group. He revealed that the attackers were from the Hyuga Clan, leaving Hinata stunned.

• Rock Lee reported that Kirigakure patrols had spotted the southern search team and warned Konoha ninja to stay away from the border.
• Search teams returned to the outpost without finding Hanabi or any relevant clues, deepening Shikamaru and Yamanaka Kazumasa's uncertainty.
• A messenger announced that Hyuga Hiashi had awakened after the antidote worked, and said he wanted to speak with Shikamaru, Naruto, and Hinata.
• Hiashi told Shikamaru that the puppets had acted without a Puppet Master and had exploited the Byakugan's limits and Hyuga fighting methods.
• Hiashi revealed that the attackers were from the Hyuga Clan, and Hinata protested that this was impossible because the clan was in Konoha.

Shikamaru and the others learned that Hyuga Hiashi’s attackers were members of a Hyuga branch living on the moon, who planned to purge the Shinobi World. Hiashi explained that they had abducted Hanabi for her unusually pure Byakugan, which they intended to use in creating a devastating weapon.

• Shikamaru questioned how the attackers had mastered puppets and avoided the Byakugan, and Hiashi revealed that they were Hyuga clansmen from the moon.
• Hiashi explained that the moon’s Hyuga Main Family and branch family had fought, leaving the losing side dead, though he did not know who had won.
• Hiashi said the moon-dwelling Hyuga had visited the Shinobi World and asked Konoha’s Hyuga to join them in purging humanity and rebuilding the world; the Hyuga clan head had refused, ending contact between them.
• Hiashi told the group that the moon Hyuga had abducted Hanabi to obtain her exceptionally pure Byakugan and use many Byakugan to create a powerful weapon.

Hyuga Hiashi revealed that the Hyuga Clan’s lunar relatives had returned to carry out a plan to destroy the Shinobi World and needed pure or numerous Byakugan. Naruto and the others resolved to rescue Hanabi, though Hiashi feared the enemy would take her eyes.

• Shikamaru Nara, Hinata, Naruto, and Sakura learned that the Hyuga Clan’s lunar relatives planned to destroy the Shinobi World, while the Hyuga Clan had kept their knowledge secret because of their blood ties.
• Hiashi admitted he did not know whether the lunar clan could destroy the Shinobi World, but said they were serious and needed pure or numerous Byakugan.
• Hiashi explained that the Caged Bird Seal protected the Main Family’s pure Byakugan and made the Branch Family’s eyes useless if stolen, partly to guard against the Hyuga Branch on the moon.
• Shikamaru concluded that the lunar relatives had returned after more than a thousand years and were preparing their Cleansing Plan, with the attack and Hanabi’s abduction pointing to their imminent move.
• Naruto vowed to defeat the enemy and bring Hanabi and her Byakugan back, while Hiashi said Hanabi would probably survive even if her eyes were taken.

Shikamaru and the others learned that the Hyuga branch on the moon was behind the attack and planned to search for a passage to the moon in the Land of Fire. After the information reached Konoha, Shihōin Naraku ordered a broader search while noting that Otsutsuki Toneri would be vulnerable to Naruto.

• Shikamaru and Hiashi agreed to report the lunar Hyuga branch and the suspected passage in the Land of Fire to Shihōin Naraku.
• Hiashi asked Hinata and the others to rescue Hanabi, and Hinata firmly promised to bring her back.
• Shikamaru told Yamanaka Kazumasa that the enemy had retreated toward the village, prompting him to recall the search teams in other areas.
• Shikamaru, Naruto, Hinata, and Tokuma Hyuga sent the information to Konoha and prepared to search toward the village, while Sakura stayed behind to care for the injured.
• Shihōin Naraku learned that Otsutsuki Toneri was behind the attack and sent more people to find the passage to the moon.

Shikamaru’s search party expanded its hunt for the passage to the moon with tracking teams and Hyuga branch-family ninja. As the searchers swept the Land of Fire, one of them finally found something, though the chapter ended before revealing what it was.

• Shihōin Naraku ordered tracking ninja and Hyuga branch-family ninja to help Shikamaru’s group search for the passage near Konoha.
• Tokuma Hyuga joined Shikamaru and Naruto’s team, and they set out to search for the passage.
• Kiba Inuzuka, Hana Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Muta Aburame, and ten Hyuga branch-family ninja led by Hōmon Hyuga departed to search the Land of Fire.
• The searchers struggled to find clues because the puppets left few traces, so the Hyuga ninja relied on their Byakugan to examine the area.
• As Shikamaru’s group drew closer to the other search team, someone shouted that they had found something.

Hōmon Hyuga’s search team found a hair ribbon and a scrap of clothing that Hana and Kiba Inuzuka confirmed carried Hanabi Hyuga’s scent. The clues pointed toward Konoha, and Hinata Hyuga arrived with Shikamaru’s group to examine them.

• A Hyuga Branch Family ninja found a hair ribbon beneath a tree, and Yun Hyuga said Hanabi had worn a similar one.
• Hōmon summoned Hana and Kiba Inuzuka, who confirmed Hanabi’s scent on a torn scrap of clothing they had found two kilometers away and on the ribbon.
• Hōmon concluded Hanabi had likely left the clothing scrap as a marker and ordered a thorough search around both locations.
• Kiba and Akamaru tracked the scent, Shino Aburame sent insects to search farther out, and Hōmon contacted Shikamaru’s group.
• Shikamaru’s group arrived, and Hinata Hyuga hurried over to inspect Hanabi’s ribbon and clothing scrap.