Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 137 Ten Blades
"Roar!"

At this moment, Hatake Sakumo has almost lost all his memories, leaving only his strongest obsession and devouring desire occupying his body.

It seemed to sense the presence of its newborn "prey," and its head suddenly turned towards the two newly born lower-level Hollows, the two crimson lights representing its eyes surging in an instant.

The burly humanoid figure instantly transformed into a blur, traversing the distance between itself and the two lower-level Void beings, appearing silently before them like a ghost.

They were so close, almost face to face!
The two lower-level Hollows were originally tearing each other apart, but after Sakumo Hatake appeared in front of them, they felt threatened and subconsciously turned around.

But in Sakumo Hatake's eyes, he was just a slow-moving target.

It raised its right arm, which was covered in bone armor, and the entire arm and hand turned into a pale white afterimage, emitting a piercing shriek that could tear the air apart.

呲!
The palm strike was like a phantom cutting through the air, producing an extremely subtle yet exceptionally clear sound, as if silk had been perfectly torn apart!
It precisely sliced ​​through the center of the bone mask of one of the lower-level Hollows, leaving a perfect crack like a mirror cut on the pure white mask!

Click...

A faint cracking sound was heard.

The next moment, the mask split neatly in two and slid off to the left and right, revealing only a pure black shadow behind it, with no face visible.

boom! !

Like a water bag filled with filth being punctured in an instant, the torrent of spiritual energy that constituted the lower-level Great Void exploded.

As Hatake Sakumo faced that ball of spiritual energy, a powerful suction force surged from the void in his abdomen, greedily drawing it into his body like a whale swallowing a long river!

"call!"

It tilted its head back slightly as if enjoying itself, emitting a low, satisfied whimper, like a wild beast devouring its prey.

Its aura seemed even more profound, and the pale bone armor on its face and arms also shimmered with an even thicker luster.

'Shadow' watched this cruel yet aesthetically pleasing process of devouring, appreciating this scene called 'evolution' that he had personally driven.

However, at that moment, his eyes twitched slightly.

The aura emanating from Sakumo Hatake was like a cold tide, causing the restless spirits around him to tremble and instinctively retreat.

However, the other lower-ranking Hollow in front of it stood there motionless.

"Hmm?" 'Shadow' raised an eyebrow. Through the feedback from the Box of Bliss, he sensed intense resentment from that lower-level Hollow.

Previously, it seemed as if she was buried deep within a body composed of the fusion of many souls, but she awoke after sensing the familiar aura of Hatake Sakumo in front of her.

The hatred within that lower-level Hollow was amplified by the Box of Bliss, even overpowering the instinctive fear that a lower-level Hollow would have when facing a mid-level Hollow.

Sakumo Hatake, who had devoured a lower-level Hollow, now set his sights on the "prey" before him.

"impossible……"

The soul of that lower-level Hollow trembled violently, and the voice emanating from behind the mask was filled with deep-seated resentment: "Who...who are you...Sakumo...who are you?"

Sakumo Hatake, who had long since lost all his memories and emotions, tilted his head.

“Shuomao…” it repeated these two words in a low voice, its tone flat and without any inflection, as if it were reciting a code name that had nothing to do with itself.

It didn't even try to recall the meaning of the name; it just seemed to be trying to understand the meaning of the word in its own mind.

Now that it has become an intermediate-level Hollow, it has acquired rudimentary intelligence.

However, it had absorbed and devoured too many souls, and the memories of countless people were mixed together, causing it to forget everything from its previous life.

No, it should be said that apart from the desire to become stronger and survive, only one name remained in its mind.

—Kakashi Hatake.

It didn't even know it was a name; it was simply etched into its very soul.

Therefore, it naturally couldn't recognize who the lower-ranking Hollow in front of it was, nor did it understand what "Sakumo" meant.

And so, in the next moment, the desire to devour overwhelmed the desire to explore, and it raised its arm once more...

"enough."

The word 'Shadow' was uttered in just two words, yet it carried an undeniable will.

Upon hearing this, Sakumo Hatake froze for a moment.

The 'Shadow' appeared beside Sakumo Hatake, along with another figure—Karin's mother, who had been transformed into a Hollow earlier. Compared to the burly Sakumo Hatake, it was more slender and tall, with only the lower half of its face covered by a mask, giving it a more human-like female silhouette, with smooth and powerful body lines.

The pale, smooth bone armor did not cover the entire body; it covered the key areas like a tight-fitting battle skirt, leaving the waist, arms, and legs exposed.

A head of long red hair cascaded down to her waist. In the palm of her left hand, a deep, hollow hole was clearly visible, and there was a number 1 on her collarbone.

These intermediate Hollows may retain some of their original features, but their overall form is still distorted, grotesque, and covered in bone.

Although it still retains memories of its previous life due to the direct conversion using points, its former name is no longer important.

Now it is called 'Uzumaki', the first of the Ten Espada. As a lower-level Hollow that was converted using points, it was the first to evolve into a mid-level Hollow.

The so-called "Espada" are the ten strongest Hollows, ranked from "0 to 9" according to their strength. However, the ranking is not fixed; lower-ranking Espada members can challenge higher-ranking members to improve their ranking.

Currently, the only Espada is 'Uzumaki'. Once Sakumo Hatake evolves to a certain level, he will also be given a name and a place among the Espada.

Not now, though.

“I’ll keep this one,” 'Shadow' said.

Sakumo Hatake's fierce aura dissipated, and he humbly lowered his head, the empty eye sockets of his mask facing the "Shadow," showing absolute obedience.

"Yes," it said in a hoarse voice, "as you wish."

These people may have different personalities due to their different obsessions, but their obedience to the person in front of them is engraved in the deepest part of their souls.

They may react differently to commands due to their different personalities, but they will all obey his commands to a certain extent.

"Roar!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the lower-level Hollow instinctively tried to escape.

But in the next moment, the vortex standing behind the 'Shadow' raised its left hand with the void.

Click! Click!
Several deep, ink-black chains, engraved with red runes, shot out from it as if they were alive!
These chains seemed to possess their own consciousness, meandering and coiling eerily in the air, like lurking venomous snakes suddenly launching an attack, coiling around the still roaring lower-level Hollow!

"Ugh!!!"

The lower-level Hollow let out a bloodcurdling scream, its body covered in dark red patterns resembling chain runes.

The massive, bulky body stiffened instantly, and the surging power within was forcibly suppressed.

"interesting."

Looking at the lower-level Hollow before him, 'Shadow' narrowed his eyes in the shadows, having already recognized the core consciousness.

Chiyo of Sunagakure.

Only Chiyo, whose son and daughter-in-law were killed by Sakumo Hatake, felt this intense, tangible hatred that transcended life and death.

Although 'Shadow' would like to follow the law of the jungle, there are too few spirits with the potential to advance to intermediate Hollows, so for the time being, it's best to keep this lower Hollow.

"It seems things are going well on Hanzo's side. Even that old man Chiyo has been killed," 'Shadow' thought to himself.

With the current soul reserves, nurturing two mid-level Hollows is already the limit.

"Unfortunately, the quality of this batch of goods is still not high enough." He sighed inwardly, "There are too few spirits with the potential to evolve into lower-level Great Void beings."

If there's another opportunity in the future, I still need to collect some spirits with higher potential, that is, stronger obsessions...

As he pondered, he seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up.

At the same time, the 'shadow' from the outside world also extracted the consciousness that had been poured into the Box of Bliss 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 air.

That is……

"what!"

Seeing the white and blue hair from that day, and the boy with his eyes closed, 'Shadow' let out a laugh.

The Otsutsuki clan on the moon!
Well done!

(End of this chapter)