"Roar!"
Kakashi Hatake's father, Sakumo Hatake, had now almost completely lost all his memories, with only his most powerful obsession and a desire to devour remaining in his body.
He seemed to sense the aura of new "prey." His head snapped towards the two newly formed Lesser Hollows, and the two crimson points of light that served as his eyes instantly flared. His sturdy, humanoid body instantly became a blur, crossing the distance between him and the two Lesser Hollows, appearing silently before them like a phantom. So close, almost face to face!
The two Lesser Hollows were originally tearing at each other, but upon Sakumo's sudden appearance, they sensed danger and instinctively turned. Yet, in Sakumo's eyes, they were just slow-moving targets.
He raised his right arm, covered in bone armor. His entire arm, including his hand, became a pale, white blur, letting out a piercing shriek that seemed to tear through the air.
Zzzzz!
His palm-blade moved like a mirage cutting through the air, emitting an extremely faint yet unusually clear sound, like perfectly ripped silk! It precisely sliced vertically through the exact center of one Lesser Hollow's bone mask. A perfect, mirror-like crack appeared on the pure white mask!
Crack...
A faint sound of fracturing echoed.
The next moment, the mask neatly split into two halves, sliding down to either side, revealing only pure black shadow behind it, no face.
Bang!!
Like a water bag filled with filth being instantly punctured, the spiritual energy torrent that composed the Lesser Hollow exploded. Facing this mass of spiritual energy, a powerful suction erupted from Sakumo's hollow abdomen, greedily drawing it into his body like a whale swallowing a river!
"Hmph!"
He tilted his head slightly, as if in enjoyment, letting out a low, satisfied moan, like a wild beast devouring its prey. His aura seemed to thicken, and the pale bone armor on his face and arms glowed with a heavier sheen.
'Shadow' watched this cruel yet somewhat aesthetic process of devouring, appreciating this scene of "evolution" that he had personally set in motion.
However, at this moment, his eyes twitched.
The aura emanating from Sakumo Hatake was like a cold tide, causing the surrounding restless spirits to tremble and instinctively retreat. But the other Lesser Hollow in front of him remained motionless.
"Hm?" 'Shadow' raised an eyebrow. Through the feedback from the Jigoku Box, he detected intense resentment from that Lesser Hollow. It had seemed to be buried deep within the body formed by the fusion of many souls, but upon sensing the familiar aura of Sakumo Hatake, it had awakened. The hatred within that Lesser Hollow, amplified by the Jigoku Box, even overcame its instinctive fear of a Menos Grande.
Sakumo Hatake, having completely devoured one Lesser Hollow, now fixed his gaze on the "prey" before him.
"Im...possible..."
That Lesser Hollow's soul trembled violently. The voice emanating from behind its mask carried an ingrained, venomous hatred: "Who... who are you...? Sakumo... who is Sakumo...?"
Sakumo Hatake, having long lost all memory and emotion, tilted his head.
"Sakumo..." he repeated the two syllables softly, his tone flat and devoid of inflection, as if uttering a codename unrelated to himself. He didn't even try to recall the meaning represented by this name, merely seemed to be attempting to understand the word's meaning within his current cognition.
Now a Menos Grande, he possessed rudimentary intelligence. However, he had fused with and devoured too many souls; countless memories were mixed together, making him forget everything about his life before. No, it should be said that, apart from the desire to grow stronger and survive, only one name remained in his mind:
—Kakashi Hatake.
He didn't even know it was a name; it was simply etched deeply into his soul.
So, he naturally couldn't recognize who the Lesser Hollow before him was, nor did he understand what "Sakumo" meant in its mouth.
Thus, the next moment, the desire to devour outweighed the desire to explore, and he raised his arm again...
"Enough."
'Shadow' uttered only two words, yet they carried an undeniable will.
At these words, Sakumo Hatake's movements froze for an instant.
And 'Shadow' appeared beside Sakumo Hatake. Simultaneously, another figure appeared with him: it was Karin's mother, who had previously been transformed into a Hollow. Compared to the imposing Sakumo Hatake, her figure was more slender and tall, with only the lower half of her face concealed by a mask. She was closer to a humanoid female silhouette, her body lines fluid and strong.
Her pale, smooth bone armor was not full-body; it covered key areas like a tight battle skirt, exposing her waist, arms, and legs. A head of long red hair flowed down to her waist. In the palm of her left hand, a deep Hollow Hole was clearly visible, and the number '0' marked her collarbone.
These Menos Grande can retain some of their former characteristics, but their overall form is still twisted, grotesque, and covered in bone. Although she still possessed her pre-death memories due to being directly converted with points, her former name was no longer important.
Now, she was called 'Uzumaki', Espada No. 0. As the Lesser Hollow first converted with points, she was the first to evolve into a Menos Grande.
The so-called "Espada" were the ten strongest Hollows, ranked by strength from "No. 0 to No. 9." This ranking was not immutable; lower-ranked Espada members could challenge higher-ranked ones to improve their standing. Currently, the only Espada was 'Uzumaki'. When Sakumo Hatake evolved to a certain extent, he would also be given a name and an Espada rank.
But not now.
"Leave this one to me," 'Shadow' said.
Sakumo Hatake's fierce aura dissipated, and his head humbly bowed. The empty eye sockets of his mask turned towards 'Shadow', displaying absolute obedience.
"Yes," his voice rasped, "As you wish."
These Hollows, due to differing obsessions, might have different personalities, but their obedience to the person before them was etched deep into their souls. They would react differently to commands based on their personalities, but they would all, to some extent, obey his orders.
"Roar!"
As his voice fell, that Lesser Hollow, driven by instinct, tried to escape.
But the next moment, Uzumaki, standing behind 'Shadow', raised her left hand, which bore the Hollow Hole.
Clang! Clang!
Several deep, ink-black chains, etched with red runes, shot out from it as if alive! These chains seemed to possess their own consciousness, twisting and coiling eerily in the air, like lurking venomous snakes suddenly attacking, wrapping around the still-roaring Lesser Hollow!
"Ughhh!!!"
That Lesser Hollow let out a pained shriek that seemed to come from the depths of its soul. Dark red markings, similar to the chains' runes, appeared on its body. Its massive and bloated form instantly stiffened, the surging power within forcibly restrained.
"Interesting."
Looking at the Lesser Hollow before him, 'Shadow' narrowed his eyes in the gloom beneath his hood, already recognizing the core consciousness.
Chiyo of Sunagakure.
Only Chiyo, whose son and daughter-in-law had been killed by Sakumo Hatake, could harbor such intense, almost tangible hatred for him, transcending life and death.
Although 'Shadow' was tempted to follow the law of the jungle, there were too few spiritual bodies with the potential to advance to Menos Grande now, so he would temporarily keep this Lesser Hollow.
"It seems things are progressing smoothly for Hanzō," 'Shadow' thought, "Even that old hag Chiyo has been killed." With the current soul reserves, cultivating two Menos Grande was already the limit.
"Too bad, the quality of this batch isn't high enough," he sighed inwardly. "There are too few spiritual bodies with the potential to evolve into Lesser Hollows." If there were opportunities in the future, he would still need to collect spiritual bodies with higher potential, meaning stronger obsessions...
Lost in thought, just then, he seemed to sense something and abruptly looked up.
At the same time, the 'Shadow' in the outside world withdrew his consciousness from the Jigoku Box and looked up at the thick, dark clouds in the distance.
He saw two figures, one large and one small, standing on a platform, suspended in the sky.
That was...
"Ha!"
Seeing the white and blue hair, and the boy with his eyes closed, 'Shadow' let out a laugh.
The Ōtsutsuki Clan from the Moon!
Perfect timing!