Neji Chronicles

Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi corner Neji for a piece linking him to Naruto, and he agrees to tell his story. He rewinds to the final stage of the Chunin Exams, when Suna and Oto joined forces to bring down the Hidden Leaf. Amid that turmoil, his grandfather warned him that two Kumogakure watchers meant to snatch Hinata and seize the Byakugan. Tenten and Kiba went along, the latter doubting that Neji, long dismissive of his cousin, would truly try to save her.

The group sprang a trap that unleashed mud wolves, and Tenten stayed behind to hold them off. Reaching the enemy, the boy who looked like Kiba scooped up Hinata, dropped a smoke bomb, and vanished, then turned and dropped one pursuer with a Gentle Fist barrage. The rescuer was actually Neji wearing Kiba's form through the Transformation Technique. The surviving Kumo-nin, Sekiei, dodged Neji's strikes with an earth technique and moved to finish him, only for Hiashi to intervene with a spinning defense.

Hiashi told his nephew that he had left the embattled village because both Hinata and Neji mattered to him. Team Ebisu is stunned to hear a crisis of this scale unfolded during the invasion. Neji explains the two spies were later caught and the matter quietly settled with Kumogakure to keep the peace. When the genin press him about Naruto's role, he admits that had Naruto not reshaped his view on fate during their duel, he might never have gone to save Hinata at all. Unimpressed, the trio are sent off to find their story elsewhere.

Neji describes a hidden rescue mission from the Konoha invasion, where Kumo agents plotted to abduct Hinata for her Byakugan. Disguised as Kiba, he retrieved his cousin and struck down one kidnapper, then faced Sekiei until Hiashi arrived to shield him. Hiashi affirmed that both children were precious to him. The captured spies were handled discreetly with Kumogakure afterward, and Neji credits his fight with Naruto for changing the outlook that let him act.

The anime-original chapter falls under the Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha and carries the opening Diver with the ending U Can Do It!. It nods to an omake gag in which Neji complains about his thin screen time and demands a spotlight of his own.