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

Chapter 100: The Death Brought by the First 'Hollow'
Time, late at night.

The village of Kusagakure was enveloped in a familiar, oppressive atmosphere, a mixture of vigilance and numbness.

"cheers!"

On the night watch, several Kusagakure ninjas were eating grilled meat and gulping down alcohol, their faces flushed with a tipsy rosy hue.

"That's about enough," said the Kusagakure Jonin who hadn't joined in, helplessly. "If those 'realists' see this, I'll get scolded for you guys again."

Legend has it that Kusagakure once opened the "Box of Bliss," the ultimate weapon from the era of the Sage of Six Paths, capable of granting any wish, and almost used it to rule the ninja world.

But then, one day, the Hidden Grass Village was suddenly destroyed.

Since then, two opposing forces have emerged in Kusagakure: the pro-war faction "Kusa no Mi" who want to revive Kusagakure, and the anti-war faction "Kusa no Hana".

Of course, the so-called anti-war and pro-war factions are just different in their interests; they are essentially the same.

Their squad is the "Flower of Grass," an anti-war group.

To be precise, they should be called "compromisers".

"Boss, why are you taking this so seriously? Your shift is about to change."

A Chunin from Kusagakure complained, his face flushed, "Given the current situation in the ninja world, who knows when Iwagakure will join in, and our Land of Grass will once again become a battlefield for powerful nations."

"If I die by then, I won't be able to drink it even if I want to."

"If that day ever comes, I will definitely bring that woman with me. If I get injured, I can bite her and it might save my life."

"Don't forget about the smaller one; we don't know if the treatment will be even more effective."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Several Kusagakure ninja laughed wildly, their words implying that they didn't consider Karin and her daughter to be human at all.

Or rather, the entire Kusagakure village, from top to bottom, is like this.

If even one person had stood up to stop or oppose it, Karin's mother wouldn't have been drained of her life force and died.

"Speaking of which, what has Wuwei been up to lately? I haven't seen him in a long time."

"Of course it's in Hozuki Castle. Isn't that workaholic always like that?"

Seeing that the group continued to do as they pleased, the Grass Village Jonin stood up helplessly and said, "I'll go outside and keep watch. You guys continue drinking, but don't go too far."

Before anyone could respond, he stepped out of the room.

The night was as dark as ink, and a thin mist hung in the air, casting a damp and eerie shadow over the already messy and simple village houses.

The lamplight cast a dim, swaying halo through the window, and the occasional suppressed arguments or indistinct murmurs in the distance only served to emphasize the lifeless and desolate atmosphere of Kusagakure.

"..."

The Grass Village Jonin frowned and subconsciously tightened his clothes.

The village of Kusagakure seems unusually cold tonight, and the night seems unusually deep.

The air seemed to freeze, and even the howling wind suddenly stopped.

Just then, the Grass Village Jonin suddenly felt an indescribable chill, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

He subconsciously turned around and saw that the air was slightly distorted.

It seems that something resides in both the tangible and the intangible.

I'm standing right in front of him right now.

hum.

The Grass Village Jonin's body suddenly stiffened, and his heartbeat stopped for a moment as if gripped by an invisible hand.

Immediately afterwards, I felt something sweep past my body, and my soul was forcibly torn apart and stripped away.

This is the ultimate pain from the depths of the soul.

But this pain could not be vented at all, because his soul had been extracted and he could no longer control his body.

He could only watch helplessly as his exposed skin lost its luster at a visible rate, and as his vision receded directly away from his body.

In his spirit form, he finally saw what it was.

A phantom figure, seemingly covered entirely in a black robe, appeared to be writhing and flowing with an intensely black liquid.

What covered the head was not a human face, but a pale white bone mask.

Where its eyes were, there were two bottomless, pitch-black holes; its teeth were exposed; and in the center of its chest was a huge, pitch-black void.

The moonlight passed through her body, casting no shadow on the ground, only a hazy outline.

"What's this?!"

As the last thought of the Grass Village Jonin arose, the white spirit was completely swallowed.

boom!
His body, which had been standing still, crashed to the ground with a dull thud.

"Wait, don't speak, is there some noise outside?"

Although they were already drunk, the strange noise still instantly alerted the several Kusagakure ninjas in the room, who abruptly stood up.

Before they could get up and do anything, they suddenly felt the air temperature drop sharply and saw an invisible, distorted figure.

hum! !

Uncontrollably, white spiritual energy was forcibly extracted from their mouths, noses, eyes, ears, and even the pores of their skin.

The people in the room collapsed, falling straight down, their eyes unfocused and lifeless.

Death continues its journey in the darkness. A drunken Kusagakure ninja slumps on the bar, silently succumbing to his lingering life force...

A Jonin who was processing documents suddenly had his soul ripped away in an indescribably cold atmosphere, and collapsed onto the desk in front of him...

Whether the target is a sleeping genin, a drunk chunin, or a normally unusually alert jonin.

No one was spared, and no one issued a warning.

There were no earth-shattering sounds, no aura of ninjutsu being used, and not even terrified screams; only the ever-spreading death.

There were no cries of pain, no resistance.

The only fear is the frozen expression on one's face when their soul is being devoured.

Finally, someone discovered the mysterious deaths of several people.

Beep beep beep! !

The first Kusagakure ninja to notice the anomaly pierced the deathly silence of the night with a sharp whistle.

In an instant, most of Kusagakure was alarmed!

"what happened?"

"Is it an enemy invasion?!"

The ninjas of Kusagakure awoke in panic, grabbed their weapons, and rushed out of their houses, scanning the surroundings to try and find the enemy.

However, all they saw was a silent, deathly still night.

"Then, what is that?!"

Some people saw a phantom that distorted the air, and many people looked on in surprise and doubt.

They tried throwing kunai, shurikens, and even explosive tags at it, but they passed through its body as if it were air, without causing a ripple.

Even a Jonin tried to use Earth Release to block its path, but was easily passed through by that body that was somewhere between tangible and intangible.

The ninjutsu struck its body, but passed through it like mud sinking into the sea, only managing to futilely glide through the air.

But it is like a walking natural disaster, advancing slowly and irresistibly, erasing life wherever it goes, like a death god bringing death.

"How can it be!"

"What it is?!"

"Could it be some kind of monster?"

Fear spread like wildfire among the Kusagakure ninja.

They were facing a 'virtual' that could not be reached by physical attacks.

What we are facing is not a physical collision, but a devouring at the level of the soul.

All of this made the Grass Village ninja's counterattack seem so pale and laughable.

Faced with this bizarre scene, someone screamed in alarm and anger, "The Sealing Squad! Where is the Sealing Squad?!"

The so-called sealing team of Kusagakure actually only consisted of five people, whose souls had already been extracted before they were discovered.

The 'illusion's' footsteps did not stop for a moment, easily penetrating the thick earthen walls and simple wooden doors, silently devouring the souls of those inside.

Harvest every last trace of life from every corner, drag out the hiders one by one, and execute them.

In every place they go, people die.

"A ghost! It's an evil ghost!"

Finally, faced with this helplessness and despair, someone completely broke down and tried to escape from Kusagakure.

However, when they reached the edge of Kusagakure, they saw five talismans with the character "禁" (forbidden) written on them.

At this moment, the three, 'Kage', Nagato, and Kakuzu, stood high above, coldly looking down at them as they struggled and despaired within the barrier.

Five-Seal Barrier, a C-rank barrier ninjutsu, involves placing forbidden talismans connected to the caster's chakra at five different locations to create a barrier space that seals off the area.

Once the barrier is activated, it cannot be broken through unless all the forbidden runes are destroyed at the same time. Although it is not offensive, it has extremely strong defensive and blocking capabilities.

This is a barrier technique that Nagato used to protect the Gedo Mazo from being discovered and invaded.

There is absolutely no way that the Hidden Grass Village could open it given its capabilities.

"do not want!"

"what!!"

"No, no, I was wrong!"

“Let it go…”

Ninjas trying to hide in the cellar, ninjas trying to escape from the village entrance, ninjas trembling in their homes...

Each biting pain became a guide, leading her toward the very people who had tormented her.

There were no blind spots, and no survivors.

Screams, curses, pleas, explosions, the clash of weapons...

All this noise belonging to the living is like a stone thrown into a deep pool; it cannot even stir up a ripple before being completely swallowed up by the boundless silence.

(Still asking for monthly votes QAQ)

(End of this chapter)