Deathly silence!
The heavy, oppressive air was suffocating, weighing on the hearts of the surviving Hidden Mist ninja. Their eyes were vacant as they looked at the wreckage: the collapsed Mizukage building, the massive crater, the cracked earth, the spreading dust, the corpses and blood everywhere... and the Fourth Mizukage, whose life hung in the balance.
Everything that had just happened was like an absurd nightmare. That red-haired monster…
"Cough! Cough, cough..."
A weak, painful cough broke the suffocating silence. The sound came from Yagura Karatachi.
"Lord Mizukage!"
Ao, who was closest, finally snapped back to reality. A little color returned to his pale face, and he ran to Yagura's side and helped him up.
And Yagura's eyes, which had been empty, were now filled with deep-seated fear and pain.
"No… No… What have I done?!"
He let out a hoarse, desperate gasp from his throat, then raised his hands and grabbed his hair, his body convulsing violently from pain and collapse! He remembered everything! He remembered all of his actions while he was under that guy's genjutsu.
He had personally signed one bloody order after another, personally created the tragedy of the "Village of the Bloody Mist," turning the Hidden Mist Village into a field of mutual slaughter where countless young lives withered! He had wantonly purged the kekkei genkai clans, and when he fully transformed into the tailed beast, he disregarded the casualties...
"AHHHH! UCHIHA OBITO!!"
A bloodcurdling scream, not unlike the dying wail of a wild beast, suddenly erupted from Yagura's mouth. His eyes were bloodshot. He looked at the Hidden Mist ninja present, grinding his teeth as he snarled each word: "Offer a bounty! A bounty for Uchiha Obito! I want him dead!!"
"What?"
Ao, a Hidden Mist jonin, was stunned. He then recalled the previous anomalies. As if realizing something, his pupils contracted.
"Release Genshi from the prison," Yagura said in a hoarse, low voice. "I have been under the genjutsu of that damned Uchiha Obito all this time!"
"I am a sinner. I have failed the Hidden Mist Village. I will resign as Mizukage. Until a suitable successor is found, I ask Elder Genshi to manage all village affairs..."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding Hidden Mist ninja were speechless. They had no idea that their Fourth Mizukage had been under genjutsu for all these years.
At this very moment, on the outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village, space warped and deformed, and a furious-looking Uchiha Obito appeared.
"Hollow! World!" he ground out, full of hate. "Again! Again!"
In a hidden cave on the border of the Land of Wind.
Rumble!
A dull but extremely powerful bang, accompanied by a violent tremor, shattered the tranquility!
On one side of the mountain, the rock wall covered in vines and moss exploded. Debris shot out, and a cloud of dust mixed with a strong smell of blood instantly filled the air! A disheveled, pathetic figure was thrown out of the exploded cave!
"Cough! Cough, cough! Ptooey!"
Hiruko coughed violently, spitting out rock fragments from his mouth. His face was covered in black soot. He looked back at the cave entrance, which was still billowing smoke, and was rattled.
"What's going on? Why did it suddenly explode? The fusion experiment with that batch of 'materials' was clearly stable..." he muttered, struggling to get up.
However, the moment he looked up, his movements froze. His bloodshot eyes widened suddenly! He saw a black figure, emanating a cold, deathly aura, slowly crawling out of the rubble at the edge of the exploded cave, where the dust had just cleared!
"What in the world?" Hiruko's voice was distorted with shock. "How did my experiment turn into this kind of monster?"
He remembered clearly that the cave had held his latest batch of "Chimera Technique" test subjects—dozens of rogue ninja captured from a small border country. But how had they become this kind of monster?
"Ugh!"
From deep within the cave's ruins came a pained groan. It was another critically injured test subject, not yet dead, who was crushed under the rubble. The black monster suddenly turned its head, its scarlet gaze locking onto the source of the sound. Its body darted over with unnatural speed.
Hiss!
A blurry soul was forcibly pulled out of the test subject's body.
"Is it... consuming souls?"
Hiruko gasped in horror, a chill instantly shooting from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Did he create this? No, he didn't do this kind of research. The field of souls belongs to that slimy snake…
Thinking of this, as if something had clicked, he stared intently at the black monster.
A bone mask, soul consumption, a hollow in its chest…
This characteristic, this form, this mask…
A name he had once scoffed at flashed through his mind like lightning!
Hollow?!
"What kind of joke is this?"
Thinking of the 'Hollows' that Orochimaru used to obsessively mention, Hiruko's hoarse, dry voice trembled. He had once dismissed Orochimaru's ideas as pure fantasy, and believed the scroll Orochimaru treasured was fake. But now…
Looking at the monster in front of him, greedily devouring a soul, its form perfectly matching Orochimaru's description.
"The scroll was real?" His face was filled with a world-shattering shock. "Hollows, these things actually exist? They weren't just Orochimaru's fantasy?"
Just as he was still in shock, the 'Hollow,' having finished its meal, slowly turned its head, its scarlet gaze locking onto him.
Hiruko's expression changed, and he subconsciously took a step back, but quickly realized he wasn't one of those frail test subjects.
"Hmph! I don't care if you're a 'Hollow' or some other ghost! You'll make a great new research specimen!"
In the Land of Fire, in the alley behind the casino in Tanzaku Town.
It was late at night, but the noise of Tanzaku Town showed no sign of stopping. Inside the casino, the lights were bright and the place was bustling with people. The sounds of dice, the clinking of chips, and the laughter of winners and the curses of losers intertwined. The strong smells of smoke, alcohol, and sweat mingled to create a unique, intoxicating, and depraved atmosphere.
On the second floor of the casino, in a luxurious private room, Tsunade was slumped over a table, her cheeks flushed and her eyes unfocused. Shizune was standing beside her, holding Tonton, a worried look on her face.
"One more, one more drink..." Tsunade drunkenly mumbled, pounding the table.
"Lady Tsunade, you really can't drink any more. We should go back!" Shizune urged anxiously.
Just then, a commotion broke out, attracting the attention of those around them.
"Ah!"
"Beat him to death! A deadbeat gambler!"
"Mercy! Please, have mercy! Just one more chance, I can win it all back, I can win it all back... Agh!!"
A series of shrill screams, pleading, and vicious curses pierced through the soundproof door of the private room and reached Tsunade's ears. It was like a bucket of cold water that sobered her up a bit. She raised her head, rubbed her eyes, and looked out the window in the direction of the sounds.
In the alley behind the casino, under a dim streetlamp, several burly, sinister-looking casino thugs were surrounding a skinny man who was curled up on the ground, punching and kicking him! Each kick landed with a dull thud. The man clutched his head as blood continuously poured from his nose and mouth, staining the muddy ground beneath him.
"Please, please, just one more day, one day is all I need..." the man begged in a broken voice. "I... I have a feeling. I'll definitely win the next round, with interest..."
"Win it back? Win your funeral money back!" one of the thugs sneered with disgust, giving the man a vicious kick to the ribs.
Crack!
"Ughhh!!"
A clear sound of a bone breaking rang out. The man let out a miserable wail and his body began to convulse violently.
"Ptooey! You have no money and you still dare to gamble? You think you're Tsunade, that big walking cash cow?" another thug spat at him, pulling a short club from his waist and raising it high.
Tsunade's expression darkened slightly upon hearing her name, but she didn't stop them. For one, these things happened all the time. For another, she did owe the casino money.
"I, I have to win it back. I have to win everything back. I've sold my wife and children. I... I can definitely win it back..."
On the man's bruised and bloody face, his eyes were wide, bloodshot, and filled with a nearly frantic desperation. But in the next moment, the heavy iron club, whistling through the air, slammed down on the back of his head.
CRACK!!
The man's body went stiff, and all sounds stopped abruptly. The light in his eyes instantly extinguished as his body went limp and fell to the muddy ground. Blood quickly spread out beneath him.
"Hmph! See that? That's what happens when you don't pay your gambling debts!"
The thug cursed, putting away his club, and warning the surrounding gamblers. He then kicked the corpse and said, "Drag him away! Throw him somewhere far away, don't let him be an eyesore here!"
The other two thugs stepped forward, and as if they were dragging a dead dog, they grabbed the corpse's ankles and prepared to haul him away.
"..."
Seeing this scene, Tsunade frowned. Shizune walked over to her, a worried expression on her face.
However, just as the two thugs were about to drag the corpse away, something strange happened! The body, which was supposed to be completely dead, suddenly began to convulse violently.
"Hmm? Not dead yet?"
One of the thugs frowned, raising his foot to deliver another kick.
But, in the next moment, catalyzed by the strong negative emotions of the countless gamblers in the casino,
Psh! Psh! Psh!
A horrifying sound of flesh tearing echoed. The skin on the corpse's back suddenly ripped and bulged. A twisted, blurry black figure covered in white bone, like a ghost, forcefully broke through the corpse's skin and crawled out! A pale bone mask covered most of its face, and two points of scarlet light suddenly glowed in its eye holes!
"What, what is that... Ughh!"
The thug who was closest only had time to let out a shriek before the newly born 'Hollow' pounced on him, opening its huge mouth and pressing it against his face!
Hiss!
A faint blue soul was forcibly pulled from the man, and he became shriveled and lifeless.
"Ah!"
"Mon-monster!"
The remaining thugs were scared out of their wits. The people around them shrieked in terror, scrambling to get away from the monster.
Tsunade's pupils contracted as she stood at the window. She looked down at the cold, sinister monster and saw it devour a soul. Her expression instantly changed. Not only that, but she could sense the presence of many more of these monsters around.
"A demon? Or something else?" Tsunade's expression became serious and solemn, with no trace of drunkenness left.
The entire Tanzaku Town was in chaos. All kinds of screams and shrieks echoed everywhere. The 'Hollow,' after devouring a soul, turned its gaze to a distant direction.
The thing that attracted these ordinary 'Hollows' wasn't souls but the spiritual energy that was being released, especially the spiritual energy generated by negative emotions. These 'Hollows' could sense that that place had the most negative emotions.
The Daimyo's mansion.
At this very moment, not only in the Land of Fire, Land of Water, and Land of Hot Water, but also in the Land of Wind, Land of Earth, Land of Lightning, and other places in the ninja world, 'Hollows' were appearing.
The tide from the 'Hollow World' had begun to sweep across the ninja world.
And the one responsible for all this was standing in a research lab in the Hidden Leaf Village.
A cold, white light poured down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire lab in a stark white. The air was thick with the smell of disinfectant.
Hyuga Kawa was looking through a window at the 'Hollow' that was bound by countless sealing chains in the lab. His face was solemn, but in the depths of his eyes, there was only a subtle calmness.
Besides Hyuga Kawa, who was there representing Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado were also present.
A middle-aged man in a white lab coat walked over. Danzo Shimura's gaze was fixed on the 'Hollow' as he asked in a low voice, "What is the progress of the research?"
The middle-aged man's face was tired, but more than that, it was filled with surprise and calm.
"We have currently conducted 73 targeted experiments and 17 simulated data analyses," he said, adjusting his glasses and taking a thick report from his assistant. He reported calmly, "We can preliminarily confirm the following characteristics about this creature."
"First, as you've seen before, with ordinary five-element ninjutsu, fire-style ninjutsu, its physical effects like heat and combustion are almost completely ineffective when they come into contact with the 'Hollow's' body."
"The flames seem to pass through a shadow, unable to cause any substantial damage to the 'Hollow.' Only when attacking the 'Hollow's' mask can some damage be caused. The same is true for other ninjutsu."
"Why?" Koharu Utatane asked, frowning.
"Based on repeated physical penetration experiments and interference tests…"
The middle-aged man pulled out an imaging diagram. The image showed the 'Hollow's' body structure, made up of two distinct colors.
"As you can see, the main black part of this creature's body, which is called a 'Hollow,' takes the form of highly condensed spiritual energy."
Danzo Shimura's eyes flickered slightly as he said, "So, the 'Hollow's' body is like an aggregate of spiritual energy, similar to the Nara clan's Shadow Imitation Technique?"
"Yes," the middle-aged man nodded. "Their black bodies cannot touch or interact with physical objects, and at the same time, they cannot be harmed by them..."
"Excuse me, if I may interrupt," Hyuga Kawa suddenly said. "So, ninjutsu is completely ineffective against them?"
The middle-aged man nodded, but then shook his head, explaining, "The chakra itself contained in ninjutsu can indeed cause them damage."
"But this damage is like throwing a rock at a basin of water. It might cause a splash, but the rest of the water will fill in the gap. It can only consume energy but cannot kill them."
"Furthermore, if the power of the five-element ninjutsu is too weak, it's like throwing a rock at the surface of the sea. Their own energy is strong enough to instantly flatten that level of impact."
Hearing this, Koharu Utatane seemed to have thought of something and asked, "I noticed you kept mentioning five-element ninjutsu. What about non-elemental ninjutsu, like a Chakra Scalpel?"
The middle-aged man adjusted his glasses and replied, "Ninjutsu of this kind, which is purely composed of chakra and has not undergone nature transformation, causes much more damage to them."
"So, we speculate that whether it's five-element ninjutsu or non-elemental ninjutsu, the thing that can cause them damage is essentially the spiritual energy of chakra."
"When five-element ninjutsu undergoes nature transformation, the chakra transforms into fire, water, wind, etc., and loses most of its spiritual energy. Its lethality is actually less than that of non-elemental ninjutsu."
Danzo Shimura frowned and said, "Their black bodies aren't physical. What about their bone structures?"
The middle-aged man answered, "Only their bone structures, including their limbs and, most importantly, their masks, show physical characteristics. These parts have physical properties."
"Not only do they have real hardness and mass, allowing them to interact with the real world and cause physical damage, but they can also be hit by physical attacks just like real bones."
With that, he played a video of a 'Hollow's' claw being severed and taking a long time to regenerate.
"According to our speculation, the bone structure is formed by highly condensed spiritual energy. However, while the limbs are external and their damage isn't critical, their masks are different."
The middle-aged man said gravely, "Once the mask is destroyed, it's like breaking a container holding high-pressure gas. The spiritual energy that makes up their bodies will instantly collapse and dissipate."
"Because of this, they instinctively protect their masks."
"Their primary means of attack are as follows. One is soul consumption. They forcibly strip and devour the souls of living beings, ignoring physical defenses and acting directly on the soul level."
"This is usually done after subduing a prey at close range. It can also be used on the dying. It poses a great threat to individual ninja and should be avoided at all costs."
"Another is claw attacks. They use their massive bone claws or other bone extensions to perform physical attacks. This is their main form of close-range attack."
"The last one is a highly compressed beam of energy. It has immense power, a long range, is fast, and has a wide area of effect. It usually requires a brief moment of charging, but it's not impossible for a stronger 'Hollow' to shorten this time or even fire it instantly. This is their main long-range attack method."
In other words, the combat strategy of ordinary 'Hollows' and lower-level 'Menos' is simple and brutal. They use Cero for destructive long-range attacks, physical oppression with their claws at close to mid-range, and then consume souls to replenish their energy after subduing their targets.
The middle-aged man concluded, "Based on the experimental data, we recommend destroying the masks with non-elemental ninjutsu, or with taijutsu and weapons augmented by chakra."
"This is currently the most effective and thorough way to kill them."
Hearing this, the three of them—Danzo, Koharu, and Homura—fell into a long silence. Hyuga Kawa then suddenly spoke up, "So, how do you kill an 'Espada'?"