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

Chapter 189 Hyuga Kumokawa, how long are you going to hide?
"..."

Upon hearing Hinata Kumokawa's question, the middle-aged man took a deep breath, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

He swiped the screen in his hand to switch between images, pulling up several extremely blurry and violently shaky video clips that were clearly filmed from a distance.

In the scene, three figures exuding a terrifying aura can be vaguely seen; they are the Espada codenamed 'White Fang', 'Puppet Master', and 'Uzumaki'.

"Since no similar 'Hollows' have been captured yet, based solely on the intelligence we have gathered and the data we have collected, those three individuals who appeared in the Uchiha clan's territory..."

His voice carried an undisguised sense of awe as he spoke, "Both their physical structure and combat style are fundamentally different from the 'Void' we captured."

He pointed to the figure of 'White Fang' in the picture, whose whole body was covered in pale white bone armor, and whose weapon was a huge bone blade crossed behind him.

“Taking ‘White Teeth’ as an example, we infer that its entire body, whether it is the bony part or its internal structure, presents a highly condensed substantial form.”

"We speculate that the spiritual energy within it has been compressed, condensed, and solidified to an unbelievable degree, with its density and stability being completely equivalent to or even surpassing that of steel!"

The middle-aged man then brought up the image of 'Vortex' and explained, "Based on the information we have so far, 'Vortex' is similar in that its attack method, like 'White Fang,' leans towards pure physical destruction."

"In other words, these beings called 'Espada' have transcended the realm of 'Hollows' and are truly intelligent and sentient beings!"

"Their entire body, including any part of their skin, muscles, bones, etc., can directly touch and destroy matter, and can also be directly hit by physical attacks."

Upon hearing this, Shimura Danzo's eyes lit up, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Does this mean that regular Five Elements Ninjutsu and physical damage can also hurt them?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man subconsciously adjusted his glasses, concealing the fleeting speechlessness in his eyes, and patiently explained:
"Lord Danzo, you are right. Because it is completely materialized, the physical damage from conventional ninjutsu is no longer ineffective. It can affect the body of ordinary ninjas in the same way."

"But I think you've forgotten one thing."

"This also means that they are no longer like those 'virtual' beings, where only the skeletal parts have physical interaction capabilities; their entire bodies can be used as weapons to cause destruction."

"Moreover, with their incredibly strong bodies, their physical strength is terrifying, possessing powerful resistance and regenerative abilities."

"The bony structure remains the strongest part of their bodies..."

Upon hearing this, Danzo Shimura's expression stiffened slightly, while Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado's eyes grew even more gloomy.

Even dealing with just one of these humanoid monsters would require a tremendous price, and there were at least three of them.

"And then there's the last 'Puppet Master'..."

At this point, the middle-aged man paused for a moment before continuing, "Its body is also highly materialized, but the 'threads' it uses are not physical threads."

"Based on our speculation, it's chakra threads..."

Upon hearing this, Mitokado Homura blurted out, "Chakra threads? The chakra threads used by puppeteers to control puppets?"

“Yes.” The middle-aged man nodded. “The chakra threads used by puppeteers are extensions of self-awareness, which are essentially spiritual energy.”

"However, all the chakra threads of a normal puppeteer are extremely fragile, and most puppeteers cannot control multiple puppets at the same time, which is tantamount to multitasking."

"Only a very few genius puppeteers, such as Monzaemon, the first to learn the puppetry developed by the Second Kazekage and improve upon it to create the 'Chikamatsu Ten,' are able to control multiple puppets at the same time on their own."

Koharu Utatane said in a deep voice, "But even that Monzaemon only controls ten puppets that are inanimate objects, right? And that 'Puppet Master'..."

Danzo Shimura couldn't help but recall the terrifying scene of the 'Puppet Master' standing in the air, controlling Konoha ninjas to fight each other with countless threads, and he couldn't help but take a slow breath.

"This is precisely where the 'Puppet Master' is so powerful."

The middle-aged man said with a solemn expression, "Its actions are tantamount to dividing its own thoughts into dozens of parts, suppressing the self-awareness of those it controls, and then using their bodies as puppets for precise manipulation..."

"No, they shouldn't be called puppets, they should be called 'dolls,' as its name suggests, it is a 'puppet master.'"

"Based on our speculation, if a 'Puppet Master' were to compress and condense all of their spiritual energy into a few chakra threads, they would likely possess terrifying hardness and sharpness."

"The maximum number of puppets a 'puppet master' can control is currently unknown. It is speculated that the difficulty of control is determined by the 'puppet''s' mental strength and chakra."

"It is currently impossible for it to destroy any one of the five great ninja villages on its own."

"But the most crucial point is that the 'Puppet Master' who possesses such great power is merely described as 'Third of the Ten Blades' by that 'Shadow'."

"If this number represents the ranking of strength within the 'Espada,' then..."

The middle-aged man stopped there, but Danzo and the other two couldn't help but twitch their faces, clearly understanding what this meant.

This means that among the 'Ten Blades' who appeared that day, only the 'Puppet Master' who ranked third truly demonstrated some ability.

The other two, 'Vortex' and 'White Fang', never displayed their true power from beginning to end.

If the 'Espada' has ten members as its name suggests, then even without counting the 'Kage', there are at least two or even three beings above the 'Puppet Master'.

Zero of the Ten Espada, One of the Ten Espada, Two of the Ten Espada...

If they, like the 'Puppet Masters,' possess the power to slaughter any small country, or even overthrow a ninja village...

"Simply put," Hinata Kumokawa summarized, "'The Espada' are no longer the transitional state of ordinary 'Hollows', which are 'half-energy and half-matter,' but rather 'solid entities.'"

"This means that when facing the Espada, we don't need to go to great lengths to attack the weakness of that single mask, just like we do when dealing with other Hollows."

"In theory, although the effect is limited, attacking any part of their body can cause damage, which also means that the 'Espada' have almost no weaknesses."

"Their threat level has increased exponentially. They are no longer 'monsters' that kill on instinct, but creatures with great strength and human intelligence."

Danzo Shimura and his two companions listened silently, their gazes fixed on the blurry yet oppressive figures in the images, the solemnity in their eyes deepening. 'Shadow,' 'Espada,' 'Hollow Realm'...

The three silently recited these names in their hearts, and an unprecedented sense of terrifying crisis instantly overwhelmed them like a tidal wave.

The mere appearance of three Espada members caused devastating damage to Konoha. What about the remaining seven Espada?

And what about the unfathomable 'Shadow' himself, and the 'Lord' he speaks of who will return to the world?
“Continue the research,” Shimura Danzo said with an unquestionable coldness. “We need to find an effective way to fight this monster, besides destroying the mask.”

"Furthermore, the patterns of energy beams emitted by 'virtual' entities, and how to effectively interfere with or defend against soul devouring."

"Especially the changes that occur on the killer after the 'Void' is killed."

"My intuition tells me that the most effective way to kill the 'virtual' is hidden within it."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man solemnly replied, "Yes, we will do our best."

He knew that the results of this research would be directly related to the future survival of Konoha and even the entire ninja world.

Afterwards, Koharu and Homura each explained some things, and finally looked at each other and then looked at Hyuga Kumokawa, who had been silent for a long time.

"Yun Chuan, is there anything else you want to ask?" Mitomon En asked.

The three, including Shimura Danzo, actually understood the meaning behind Sarutobi Hiruzen's decision to send Hyuga Kumokawa over while he was recuperating in the hospital.

Even though Hyuga Kumokawa won't become the next Hokage because of the "Caged Bird" system being controlled by the Hyuga main family, he will still be groomed as an important high-ranking member of Konoha in the future.

As one of the future high-ranking officials, he would naturally know some secrets.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were worried that the still young Hyuga Kumokawa, under Hiruzen's heavy reliance on him, would become arrogant and domineering, looking down on everyone.

For example, they thought they could be on equal footing with these consultants...

Hinata Kumokawa seemed to have just come out of his thoughts, looked at the three advisors in front of him, shook his head and said, "I came on behalf of the Third Hokage. I have already asked all the questions he asked me to."

Seeing that Hyuga Kumokawa did not seem to have overstepped his bounds, Koharu and Utatane exchanged glances of satisfaction and said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble you to tell Hiruzen everything."

"I heard that Kakashi is in the hospital just like Hiruzen. We will visit them in the hospital once all the post-war matters in the village have been settled."

The two were already aware of Kakashi Hatake's ordeal.

The masked man who orchestrated the Nine-Tails' rampage and the current Uchiha massacre is actually Uchiha Obito, who died in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.

Even if he wasn't the real "Uchiha Madara," he was still a powerful figure who had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, and Kakashi's victory over him was a great achievement.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, given the losses of the Fourth Shinobi World War and the casualties caused by this incident, Hiruzen Sarutobi will definitely lose his position as Hokage.

If Tsunade and Jiraiya don't plan to become the Fifth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, with his special status, will probably be one of the candidates.

Once the severely injured Uchiha Shisui awakens from his coma, and we can find out the cause of the Uchiha massacre from him, he might become one of the candidates for the Fifth Hokage.

The premise is that Shizuku is completely innocent in this matter, knew nothing about it from beginning to end, and no one was secretly involved...

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado glanced at the expressionless Danzo Shimura, but quickly looked away, took the research report, and left the research institute.

They're incredibly busy right now.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's aging body and mental state have suffered severe damage, and now, in the turbulent post-war Konoha, only two people can keep him in check.

After the two left, Shimura Danzo also turned and left with his research report, followed closely by Hinata Kumokawa.

Crack! Bang!

The heavy doors of the research institute slowly closed behind me, shutting out the cold lights and oppressive research atmosphere inside.

Danzo Shimura, leaning on his cane, walked into a forest path leading to the root base, his steps unhurried.

The sunlight was cut into fragmented spots by the dense canopy of trees. The surroundings seemed silent, with only the soft sound of the cane tapping on the fallen leaves and Danzo's breathing.

Danzo walked several hundred meters without pausing, but suddenly spoke, breaking the deathly silence of the forest:

"How long are you going to follow me?"

The sound echoed through the silent forest path, but received no response, only the rustling of the wind through the leaves, as if mocking his self-talk.

Danzo's face was expressionless, his single eye gleaming coldly in the shadows, and he suddenly raised the hand holding his cane.

Clang!
With a soft click of a mechanism, slender senbon needles shot out from the bottom of the cane.

The target wasn't ahead, but beside him.

Click!

The sharp blade sank deep into the tree trunk without any resistance, and the next moment, the previously empty space rippled out like water.

A figure appeared silently.

Hinata Kumokawa stood in front of the tree trunk, tilting his head slightly to look at Danzo. The tip of the poisoned blade was only millimeters away from him.

The wind even ruffled a few strands of his hair, but his pure white eyes remained calm and undisturbed.

(End of this chapter)