Chapter 96: Chasing the Invisible
With a firm leader at the helm, Konoha began to move swiftly, sorting out the chaos left in the wake of the recent conflict.
As the direct successor to Aizen Sosuke and a man who harbored no prejudice against the Uchiha, Minato Namikaze's rise to leadership faced no major resistance from the clan. Although some Uchiha still displayed their usual aggressive tendencies, both sides managed to maintain a fragile tolerance. The other major clans stayed quiet during the emergency meeting — none dared to oppose the final decision.
Thus, in this state of exhausted acceptance, the clans allowed themselves to be guided by Minato. Following the directives of the Chakra Network, all ninja were reorganized into divisions. From broad surveillance teams to precise investigation units, the chain of command was established within hours.
And soon, dozens of problematic shinobi were discovered.
Their behavior was horrifying. Before the inspections, they had seemed entirely normal — living their daily lives, with families, duties, and dreams. But when subjected to chakra resonance scans, something grotesque began to emerge.
Clumps of black sludge oozed from their bodies, pulsating faintly before wrapping around them like living tar. Then, without a sound, both the person and the sludge sank into the shadows and vanished.
Some resisted violently, erupting with strange bursts of power that wounded their comrades before fleeing — but they were swiftly subdued by Tsunade and Orochimaru.
What unsettled everyone most was how the researchers from Konoha's Chakra Institute — including Tsunade and Orochimaru themselves — reacted.
Ordinary ninjas recoiled in horror at the sight of the black sludge, their instincts screaming danger. But the white-coated researchers stood calm and composed, their expressions almost indifferent.
To them, the sludge seemed neither foreign nor frightening. They looked at it as one would at an old acquaintance. Their lack of surprise was chilling — as if they had known about these creatures all along.
No one dared to question them aloud, but the unease spread quickly. Without a single declaration, Konoha had been divided again.
This division was unlike the ideological wars of the past. Previously, conflict came from conviction — from different interpretations of the Will of Fire. But this… this was something else.
Now, people began to suspect that within this peaceful village, something unseen had always existed — something formless, hidden just beyond sight, separated only by a thin veil.
Some had known of it. Some had chosen to ignore it. And some… had helped it hide.
The more they investigated, the clearer the line became. Those who understood the black substance — and those who didn't — no longer stood as one.
And among those who knew were the pillars of Konoha itself: Orochimaru, Tsunade, and several others. Even certain members of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans seemed aware, yet none of them resisted Minato's leadership. They simply followed his orders to restore the village's order and rebuild its defenses.
But whispers continued to spread.
More mimics — shinobi made of false flesh and shadow — were being exposed and executed. More black puddles appeared beneath the streets, and more white-robed researchers gathered in silence, their faces unreadable.
Mutual Aid members, clan warriors, and independent ninjas all found themselves standing side by side — united not by trust, but by fear. They stared at the black mud seeping from their comrades and at those who looked on indifferently, and for the first time, Konoha's divisions began to fuse into something far more dangerous — suspicion.
"…This is the last one," Minato murmured.
Using the Heavenly Transfer Technique and the Chakra Network, he marked every ninja lacking a chakra signature. Each was hunted down using detailed witness reports, apprehended, and brought in for interrogation.
But every session ended the same way.
Black liquid seeped from their bodies, dissolving into the air before sinking into the shadows, leaving no trace behind. It was their defining feature — and proof that these beings were not human.
Their lack of chakra was now explained. They didn't use chakra at all. Instead, the black substance within them mimicked its flow — crude, imperfect, but convincing enough to pass for the real thing.
And one more detail stood out: every recorded case traced back three years. Not one of these shadow-born beings had appeared before that.
Minato's expression darkened.
Three years ago… why then?
And why them?
Because three years ago, Aizen Sosuke had acquired complete authority over the Konoha Orphanage — and, through his own work, turned Konoha Hospital into one of the village's most prosperous institutions.
But the real question was more unsettling.
Why could some people see the strange, impossible things within Konoha and yet feel nothing? Why did they live as if everything was normal, as though the village wasn't already split in two?
Minato Namikaze couldn't understand.
Just twenty-four hours ago, he had been an ordinary jonin — a man grieving Aizen's death so deeply that he could barely eat or sleep. But now, after seeing the evidence before him, Minato felt a terror unlike anything he'd known.
It wasn't fear of death or failure — it was the fear of realizing that the world itself might not be what it seemed.
It was like staring at someone who appeared human in every detail, yet radiated something that wasn't human at all. The fear came from within, a cold, gnawing dread that reached into the soul.
His perception of reality began to fracture — a mirror reflecting two worlds.
On one side, Konoha was the same peaceful village of chirping birds and blooming flowers. On the other, the same village appeared identical, yet every smile was bound by invisible threads — the people themselves puppets dancing in an unseen web.
The old Minato had no need to think about such things. He had simply lived his life in peace, believing in Konoha's ideals.
But now, the curtain had been lifted. Under the crushing weight of duty, Minato began organizing the data left behind by Aizen… and in doing so, uncovered the gift that Aizen had left behind.
"…Lord Orochimaru, you knew about this all along, didn't you?" Minato asked quietly.
Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed. "What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about what Brother Aizen truly did during his time in power."
Minato's voice was calm, but his hands trembled as he sifted through the piles of documents before him. He had used clone techniques and space-time ninjutsu to analyze the records at impossible speed, piecing together information that the Third Hokage had ignored.
What he found was staggering.
Hidden beneath years of clean accounting were discrepancies — vanished investments, erased construction records, untraceable personnel. Entire projects existed on paper yet had no physical presence in Konoha.
Each anomaly was connected by one phrase.
Invisible Garden.
An organization founded by Aizen Sosuke.
Officially, it was a research division dedicated to chakra and medicine. In reality, it was something far more obscure.
The Third Hokage's negligence had allowed it to sink deep into the shadows, concealed beneath Konoha's foundation. And now, Minato had dragged it into the light.
"What exactly is the Invisible Garden?" Minato demanded.
Orochimaru's lips curved into a faint smile. "It's a research organization," he replied smoothly.
The dim light of the laboratory reflected off his pale skin, his serpentine eyes glinting with interest. "Aizen founded it to study the essence of chakra — to test the boundaries of what it means to be human."
As Minato's gaze darted across the documents, he could feel Orochimaru watching him with something close to delight.
To Orochimaru, this was the true test — whether the man chosen by Aizen could cross that same threshold. When Minato began to grasp the truth, a rare flicker of satisfaction passed through Orochimaru's cold heart.
He finally understood why Aizen had forbidden him from conducting independent experiments. It wasn't jealousy. It was control — to ensure that only one man could see the full picture at a time.
Now, watching Minato step forward into that same darkness, Orochimaru couldn't help but feel exhilaration rising from deep within.
"Tell me everything," Minato said, his voice low but steady.
Orochimaru's tongue brushed across his lips as a slow, amused grin spread across his face. "I can tell you anything you want to know, Minato-kun."
"What's the price?"
"As long as you face the truth," Orochimaru whispered, his tone almost tender, "and don't run from it — that's all I require."
Minato sat on the cold floor, papers scattered around him like fallen leaves. The lamplight cast long shadows across his face, reflecting both fear and awakening.
Across from him, Orochimaru's expression was that of a man savoring the moment — the exact instant when another genius stepped into the abyss.
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