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

Chapter 455 The "Death" of "Hyuga Kumokawa"

Inside the giant golem's head, unlike the external mechanical structure, it's more like a chamber combining biological and mechanical elements.

Dark red flesh of varying thickness, resembling blood vessels, pulsates and eventually converges in the center of the cavity to form a fleshy base.

"Tsk."

At this moment, only the upper body of Scorpion from the waist up was intact, and his face still looked like that of a young boy, but his brows were tightly furrowed.

His lower body was fused with the fleshy base, as if he himself were part of this giant puppet.

Countless chakra threads extend from the "core" in his heart, connecting to the inner walls of his internal cavity, allowing him to control this behemoth with ease.

Sasori clearly saw Kakuzu's death and knew that the puppet's leg had been severely injured and it had fallen to its knees. The Fourth Raikage, Kyoto, and many Allied Shinobi continued their frenzied attack.

“That Kakuzu guy…” Sasori couldn’t help but curse, “If this continues, I’m doomed too.”

Horned creatures can disregard life and death, burning themselves out to the very end, but scorpions are different.

He pursued eternal art, transforming himself into a human puppet in order to transcend death; he was unwilling to perish here with this still imperfect puppet.

With this in mind, Sasori manipulated the giant to support his upper body, and suddenly raised his relatively intact arm, with chakra gathering in the deep muzzle of his palm.

Boom! Pfft!

The massive chakra cannon blasted towards Akimichi Tou, who was rushing towards him, piercing through his abdomen without any resistance, leaving a large, charred hole that was both bright and clear!
"Cough!" Akimichi Tou's body stiffened abruptly, blood gushing from his mouth. He tried to struggle forward, but his body was no longer under his control.

The effects of the three-color secret medicine have worn off, the multiplication state has been removed, the consequences of overdrawing the body have erupted, and the suppressed injuries have come crashing back like a tidal wave.

The terrifying pain left him with his mouth agape and his eyes rolling back, unable to even scream. As his body shrank back to its normal size, everything went black, and he fainted, collapsing to the ground.

"Tangdong!"

A cry of alarm and anger came from the Allied Shinobi Forces, while Sasori seized the chaos and opening he had created.

Crack! Crack! Bang!

The giant golem's head suddenly broke off from its neck and, amidst a series of mechanical sounds and compressed gas ejection, was ejected like a cannonball!

After detaching from the torso, the head rapidly deformed, extending relatively small mechanical arms and legs from the sides and bottom, transforming into a separate, large-headed puppet.

Four streams of flame erupted from behind its arms and legs, providing powerful propulsion that propelled it rapidly toward the sky, far from the battlefield.

"Damn it! He's trying to run away!"

"Shoot him down quickly!"

The allied ninjas reacted immediately, and various ninjutsu, shuriken, and explosive tags rained down into the air.

However, the split puppet was originally created by Scorpion for escape. It flies extremely fast and is exceptionally agile, performing all sorts of unbelievable sudden stops, turns, and rolls in the air, easily dodging all attacks.

"Hmph, a bunch of trash." Inside the split puppet, Scorpion saw this scene and couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

Having discarded its bulky torso and retained only its core drive and flight capabilities, this split-body puppet is now far faster and more agile than before, enough to get rid of these annoying guys.

However, just as he breathed a sigh of relief and even began to plan how to find new materials and locations to refine his "art"...

Beep beep!

"Warning, warning!"

Inside the split-type puppet, a sharp and urgent alarm suddenly sounded, followed by a cold, emotionless synthesized voice: "Unidentified high-speed flying object detected approaching, speed..."

"What?" Scorpion's smugness froze instantly, turning into astonishment. He looked up in the direction of the radar, at the sky directly above and in front of his flight path.

The first thing that catches the eye is the deep blue sky that is gradually being diluted by the morning light, and the pitch-black crack that cuts the full moon through the sky.

The illogical scene was terrifying enough in itself, but something even more deadly caught the scorpion's attention.

Above the sky, where the first light of dawn was just beginning to appear, against the backdrop of the cleaved full moon, a shooting star was hurtling toward him at an unimaginable speed!

The speed was so fast that in the few seconds he was stunned and staring, the distance between the two had already shrunk from a point of light on the distant horizon to a point where he could see their outlines clearly!
It was a huge meteorite burning with flames due to atmospheric friction, and two figures were standing on its relatively flat surface!

Due to the distance and speed, the exact appearance was unclear; only the wide black robe of one of the dark figures could be seen fluttering wildly in the wind.

In Sasori's radar, it was a hollow void, devoid of heat, chakra activity, and heartbeats; only a pure and unsettling "nothingness."

It was as if it wasn't a person, but a shadow with a physical form, a silhouette emerging from a nightmare.

"What the hell..."

Before Scorpion could finish his roar of shock and anger, the meteorite had already filled his field of vision.

Bang! Boom!

The meteorite struck Scorpion's split puppet squarely, then, pressing down on the split puppet, slammed down with unstoppable force onto the giant headless puppet below.

The split puppet was instantly deformed and shattered by the impact, while the giant puppet was directly smashed by the meteorite, its entire massive body crashing backward.

With a loud bang, the giant puppet crashed heavily to the ground, and dust, soil, and metal fragments surged and spread in all directions like a tsunami!

"careful!"

"Earth Escape Team!"

The allied ninjas, who were attacking from all sides, were thrown about by the sudden impact, and a violent shockwave carrying debris and dust rushed towards them.

Huang Tu instinctively raised his arm to shield his face, squinted, and stared intently at the area with the thickest smoke and dust, shouting, "Hyuga Aoi! What happened?"

However, Hyuga Aoi beside him did not respond for a long time, so Huang Tu suddenly turned his head to look.

The Hyuga clan Jonin, whom he remembered as having always performed well, was now gazing into the distance with his Byakugan activated.

But that usually calm face was now deathly pale, his lips trembling slightly, his face filled with unparalleled fear, bewilderment and disbelief.

"Do not……"

Hinata Aoi seemed oblivious to Huang Tu's question, staring intently into the depths of the smoke and dust, at a scene visible only to her Byakugan eyes, muttering as if in a dream: "Impossible..."

She staggered back a step, then another, her body trembling uncontrollably as she shook her head and repeated the word "impossible."

Before Huang Tu could even ask any questions, an even more turbulent wave of air suddenly spread out from the impact center, completely dispelling the smoke and dust that had enveloped the area.

The scene of the meteorite impact was laid bare before the eyes of all the Allied Ninjas.

The first thing that catches the eye is the meteorite that is diagonally embedded in the chest of the giant puppet. The surface of the meteorite is still glowing with fire, and it has twisted and shattered the puppet's armor and interior.

Like a giant that has been killed.

Sparks and electrical fire continued to fly, making a crackling sound, and on top of the meteorite stood two figures.

The leader, dressed in a black robe, had his face, figure, and aura perfectly concealed by shadows, yet everyone felt as if they were being looked down upon by his gaze.

"Long time no see, everyone." 'Shadow's' voice rang out across the deathly silent battlefield. "It seems I'm not too late?"

The gentle, smiling tone reached everyone's ears clearly, yet it was more chilling than any vicious curse. Behind 'Shadow', 'Caged Bird' held Scorpion's upper body, with his head held high by 'Caged Bird' with one hand.

But what made all the Allied Ninjas feel their blood freeze was the surface of the meteorite beneath the feet of the 'Kage' and 'Caged Bird'.

The so-called meteorite was actually a floating island, but it was now erected and inserted into the chest of the giant puppet, with its flat side facing the allied ninjas.

A figure was pinned to the meteorite.

With arms outstretched and head bowed, a dark shadow extending from beneath 'Shadow's' feet pierced his chest and through his heart, causing blood to drip continuously and pool into a pool of blood.

And that lowered face, those reborn eyes, were incredibly striking...

"Besides Hyuga Kumokawa, who else could possess the Tenseigan?" This realization was implanted in everyone's minds.

Using Otsutsuki Toneri's Tenseigan as the anchor point for distorted perception, in everyone's current understanding, there is no doubt that it is "Hyuga Kumokawa".

The spiritual leader and hope of the Hyuga clan, the hero who turned the tide for Konoha, the powerful and reliable supreme commander in the hearts of the Allied Shinobi Forces, and a key figure in the fight against the Akatsuki organization...

The "Child of Prophecy" whom Jiraiya spoke of, who brought about change to the ninja world, was so powerful that he could defeat Hyuga Kumokawa, who brought peace to Nagato...

At this moment, there was no sign of life in that body.

There was no breathing, no heartbeat, no sign of life, only a cold, deathly silence.

Snap... Snap...

On the deathly silent battlefield, the sound of dripping blood was amplified infinitely, striking the hearts of every allied ninja with clarity, gradually revealing fear on their faces.

Bang!

The kunai in Hyuga Takashi's hand slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

He stared at the figure, his lips moving, uttering a broken and trembling voice: "Brother Yun... Brother Yun Chuan..."

"No! Impossible!"

"How could this be... even that lord..."

"That's fake! It must be an illusion! It's an enemy illusion!"

"Don't believe it! That must be a White Zetsu, a psychological tactic by the enemy!"

A ninja was shouting about White Zetsu and genjutsu, but his voice was trembling uncontrollably because no matter how he tried to break the genjutsu by forming hand seals, the scene in front of him remained unchanged.

Tell them everything.

That was the real Hyuga Kumokawa, Hyuga Kumokawa really was...

"die!!"

Just then, a furious roar, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, suddenly exploded.

Oh!

A blue bolt of lightning, moving at a speed beyond the limits of visual perception, tore through the air from the left side of the battlefield and hurtled toward 'Shadow'.

The Fourth Raikage was utterly enraged, his hair standing on end, his eyes wide with fury, and he unleashed his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to its fullest extent, blasting that damned guy to pieces.

Almost at the same time, another silent, dark figure emerged from the shadows on the right, like a ghost.

Hanzo's scythe flashed a deadly light as it slashed at the "caged bird" behind "Shadow" who was holding Sasori.

In response, 'Shadow' didn't even move its feet, but simply manipulated the shadow that pierced through Otsutsuki Toneri's chest and limbs, and lashed it out like a whip.

Otsutsuki Toneri's corpse was flung towards the Fourth Raikage, who was throwing a punch, like a cannonball.

"Damn it!"

Seeing "Hyuga Kumokawa" flying towards him, the Fourth Raikage's expression changed, and he loosened his fist, trying to catch the flying figure.

boom!
Hinata Kumokawa's body crashed heavily into the Fourth Raikage's arms, the immense force causing the Fourth Raikage to feel as if he had been struck by lightning.

"puff!"

He felt as if his internal organs had been displaced, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Holding the corpse of "Hyuga Yunchuan," he flew backward and crashed into the distant ruins, where smoke and dust filled the air.

On the other side, facing Hanzo's cunning and ruthless scythe strike, 'Caged Bird' directly raised its other free hand and stabbed into Sasori's upper body.

puff!

With his arm plunging in and then withdrawing, 'Caged Bird' didn't even glance at it, throwing Sasori's mangled upper body toward Hanzo's scythe as if discarding trash!

Hanzo's expression changed, and he tried to sheathe his sword, but he couldn't control his power as freely as the Fourth Raikage. His scythe directly cut Sasori's upper body in two.

Even with the added force of the 'Caged Bird', Sasori's severed remains still slammed into Hanzo, causing Hanzo to groan and fly backward as well.

'Caged Bird' calmly raised its hand, holding a pulsating, dark red chunk of flesh in its grasp—the scorpion's "nucleus," the very thing Hanzo desired.

As long as the "core" remains, the scorpion can still come back to life; a new puppet can be used instead.

But under Hanzo's shocked and angry gaze, 'Caged Bird' suddenly clenched its five fingers together.

Phew!

A sound like a water bag being crushed rang out, and the "core" was crushed into a lump of mud.

"You..." Hanzo forced himself to steady himself, swallowed the mouthful of blood that welled up in his mouth, and his eyes were extremely gloomy.

This guy, 'Kage,' is really showing no mercy at all. Does he intend to be an enemy of both the Akatsuki and the Allied Shinobi Forces at the same time?

"Trust is synonymous with dependence, and dependence leads to weakness."

With a smile, 'Shadow' said, "Even knowing that it is just a corpse is enough to make the bravest ninja weak and the most rational commander lose his composure."

The unfathomable malice and darkness in those words engulfed everyone like a cold tide.

Hinata Kumokawa is really dead.

The morale that had just been ignited by killing Kakuzu and repelling Sasori was crushed and extinguished underfoot, and despair began to spread rapidly like a plague among the Allied Shinobi Forces.

[Your lie has been judged as [a clever escape], [a deceptive deception], and [a substitution]. Hyuga Aoi, Jiraiya, the Fourth Raikage, and others experienced intense emotional fluctuations, reaching the level of [disbelief]. You have gained 30000 truth points...]

[Remaining realization points: 116041]

"Shadow" quietly admired those pale faces, listened to those desperate and collapsing sobs and roars, and felt the spiritual energy surging like a tide, almost becoming tangible.

Doubt, horror, fear, confusion, anger, despair, hatred, collapse...

These surging negative emotions were like the most delicious food, flowing into his body continuously and being absorbed, transformed, and replenished by the Hogyoku.

Catalyzed by the Hogyoku, his bloodline and divine arts underwent another transformation.

(End of this chapter)