Naruto: From Fake to Real, Deceiving the Ninja World

Chapter 577 The Hyuga Kumokawa you all know never existed.

boom!!

The flames ignited the spilled oil, instantly transforming it into a towering sea of ​​fire that engulfed Hinata Kumokawa and Kage below.

The terrifying temperature made the eyebrows of the allied forces curl, and many were forced to retreat by the blast wave, raising their hands to shield their faces, with a crimson light shining through their fingers.

However, under everyone's gaze, within that crimson sea of ​​fire, two figures distorted by the flames remained clearly visible.

The next moment, Gamabunta, whose size was comparable to that of a tailed beast, fell from the sky, gripping the giant wakizashi he had drawn at his waist and slashing down at the two figures in the flames.

The massive wakizashi at his waist, carrying a weight powerful enough to split a small mountain, fell, its combined weight and size enough to crush the Nine-Tails to the ground—

boom!!

The ground shattered and collapsed, flying debris, and the wind whipped up the surrounding flames.

but----

Gamabunta stared intently at the ground beneath him, a look of shock and anger appearing on his狰狞 face pierced by a scar.

"Damn Jiraiya!" Bunta gritted his teeth, the long scar across his face contorted in a grotesque grimace. "Every time you fight, you drag me down with you without ever explaining who your opponent is!"

Its hands, gripping the giant wakizashi, trembled slightly. Beneath the sharp, massive blade, Hyuga Kumokawa and Kage stood side by side, unmoved from beginning to end.

In front of the two were several extremely burly and tall black figures, their bluish-black skin exuding a deathly aura, who were raising their hands to carry Gamabunta's wakizashi.

It was the troll legion from the Shadow Legion.

"Hyuga Kumokawa".

Jiraiya completely ignored Bunta's complaints.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the familiar figure below, his voice hoarse: "Do you even know what you're doing?!"

"Aoi, Hyuga Aoi, that's Hyuga Aoi!"

"She has always admired you, just like everyone else. She grew, fought, and became stronger under your inspiration, and that's why we're all standing here to stand behind you."

"In order to be able to follow in your footsteps, I worked my hardest and transformed from a naive and innocent daughter of the main family into a Jonin who is now qualified to stand behind you."

"But you—"

"That's right."

Before Jiraiya could continue, Hyuga Kumokawa suddenly interrupted, saying calmly, "That's why I had her stand behind me."

"Because nothing is easier to manipulate than someone who fantasizes about themselves."

19

"So, do you understand?" he said. "It wasn't her who chose me, nor were you the ones who chose me."

"But I chose her, just as I chose you all."

Listening to those calm and indifferent words, Jiraiya looked at that face and his mind raced with thoughts.

He thought back to the battle with the Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of the Moon.

It was a war so brutal it was suffocating.

The ninjas from Kumogakure surged in like a tide, and Konoha's defenses were on the verge of collapse.

At that moment, Hinata Kumokawa stepped forward.

At that time, Hyuga Kumokawa was just a boy who had graduated from the Ninja Academy a few years ago, yet he controlled the heavenly lightning with his own flesh and blood.

A purple bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky, turning the Cloud Hidden Army and their defenses into charred remains.

In that battle, Hyuga Kumokawa became a hero and a legend.

However, when Xiang Yunchuan was seriously injured and forced to retreat from the front line, he was promoted to Jonin, but what people saw was not some arrogant monster.

Despite his pale face and still-healing injuries, Hinata Kumokawa would smile and buy candy for the children who pestered him, and would politely respond to the greetings of every villager.

At that time, he was like a jade disc carefully lifted from the turbulent currents of the battlefield, having lost all its sharp edges, as gentle as if the bloodshed of the battlefield had never tainted him.

He was ruthless on the battlefield, but as warm as a spring breeze to his comrades, making him a near-perfect figure in the hearts of young ninjas.

Jiraiya remembered even more how Hyuga Kumokawa stood up for the main family and branch family in the conflict, and how Hyuga Kumokawa stood on the podium to dispel despair and ignite fighting spirit.

Whenever Konoha faces a threat, Hyuga Kumokawa always steps forward to help.

He is hope, a symbol of trust, the one who can lead everyone to survive in dire straits, and the most perfect leader in the eyes of most people.

Even Onoki and others, when mentioning Hyuga Kumokawa, would grit their teeth and resent the fact that Konoha was a place of outstanding people, always able to produce young people like Hyuga Kumokawa who could turn the tide.

But now what?

Jiraiya stared intently at the person below.

The face was still the same face, the features hadn't changed, the figure hadn't changed, but those eyes—

Those eyes that were once gentle, firm, and reassuring.

At this moment, only indifference remains.

Do not!

"You are not Hinata Kumokawa!"

"And certainly not the 'Child of Prophecy' I chose!"

Jiraiya roared angrily, "Who are you? Where is Hyuga Kumokawa?!"

"As expected of Jiraiya-sama, a man of sloth."

Hinata Kumokawa slightly raised his head to look at him, and said softly, "Even now, are you still living in your own fantasy?"

"Even now, do you still just feel that I'm not the Hyuga Kumokawa you know?"

"you----"

His last illusions were shattered, leaving only final speculations and possibilities—possibilities he had always been unwilling to face and dared not touch.

Jiraiya's teeth chattered slightly with fear, making a soft clattering sound, and his voice trembled as he said, "No, it can't be."

if----

If Hyuga Kumokawa was this guy from beginning to end.

So, when exactly did his deception begin?

"Don't you understand?"

The shadow beside Hyuga Kumokawa shook his head, a hint of mockery in his eyes, and said, "The Hyuga Kumokawa you all know has never existed."

"Whether it's the Child of Prophecy, the Fifth Hokage, or the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, they are all just crowns you put on my head."

Hyuga Kumokawa continued, his voice calm as still water: "Hyuga Kumokawa, Kage, and Otsutsuki Kumoshiki are all just names."

Yes.

Hinata Kumokawa is him.

The shadow is him.

It was also Otsutsuki Kumoshiki!

At that moment, Jiraiya realized it.

When exactly did his lies begin?

The answer is ————

"From beginning to end."

Hinata Kumokawa said softly, his indifferent eyes showing no emotion: "I am who I am, as I was in the past, as I am now, and as I will be in the future."

"Besides this, this name, this appearance, this body, are all just empty words and lies."

At this point, a chilling smile appeared on his lips: "If I could, I would much prefer you to call me—"

"Death," Shadow continued, his voice low and cold.

"The death I'm talking about isn't euphemistic, metaphorical, poetic, theoretical, or any fancy way of putting it—"

As "Shadow" spoke, the chill deepened, and a murderous aura surged forth, rushing straight to the hearts of everyone present, as if gripped by an invisible hand, causing them to suddenly stop.

"I----"

The smile on Hinata Kumokawa's face vanished, leaving only pure coldness in his eyes, which had never shown any smile to begin with.

"It's death itself," he said.

hum! !

As soon as he finished speaking, the shadows beneath his feet suddenly spread outwards, extending in all directions like a quietly flowing black tide.

Wherever it passed, light was swallowed up, sound was absorbed, the air became thick and heavy, and a chilling coldness gradually seeped into the bones.

In an instant, the entire underground palace was shrouded in thick, inky darkness.

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