"What... what is that thing?"
At the exact moment Hiruzen Sarutobi heard the commotion outside.
Konoha Hospital.
Hearing the explosion, several Ninja rushed out of the wards, staring dumbfounded at the monster that had crashed through the hospital wall, barged into the corridor, and whose mere height had already broken through the ceiling.
At this moment, the monster was seen clutching an ordinary person who was struggling, and with a terrified scream from the victim, it bit down.
"Chii—!"
The splashing blood immediately startled everyone present awake.
"Kill it!"
Konoha was, after all, not an ordinary Village, but a key military group at the national level.
Most people living here, no matter how unremarkable they might seem normally, would transform into warriors who had experienced countless bloody battles on the battlefield the moment they picked up a blade.
However, despite the monster's enormous size, its movements were far more agile than those of an ordinary person.
Even when facing multiple Ninja simultaneously, it could still charge left and right through the narrow hospital wards and corridors with its body, eliciting screams.
Medical Ninja quickly moved patients under the command of their superiors and issued an alarm to the outside.
The surrounding Ninja, upon noticing the enemy attack signal flares rising from the center of the Village, also converged on the hospital in surprise.
However, in this special location, many Ninja were constrained, while the monster was reckless. Most Ninja could only suppress the urge to use Ninjutsu, fighting with Ninja tools and Taijutsu.
But whether it was Kunai or Shuriken, these weapons designed for humans mostly caused no pain or damage to this monster.
Only a few specialized Taijutsu-type Ninja could repel it with Wind Release-infused, heavy punches and kicks.
As a result, the Ninja seemed somewhat at a loss for a time.
—It wasn't that the strength of the Ninja and the Hollow were truly so disparate, but rather that the Ninja were unprepared for their first encounter with such an enemy.
Just then.
A figure, seemingly enveloped in a pale blue glow, suddenly burst into the hospital lobby from outside at a speed too fast for the naked eye to track.
Its rotating long leg, like a spinning axe, suddenly entered everyone's field of vision with a dull, extreme sonic boom.
"Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit!"
"Open!"
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
Amidst that distinctive roar, a surging current of air tore open the path ahead, irresistibly striking the monster's chest and abdomen.
"Boom—!"
In an instant, the alien Hollow that had just left everyone at a loss suddenly transformed into a huge cannonball. Amidst the roaring explosion, it was kicked out of the lobby, directly smashing through a sturdy load-bearing wall, shattering a sheet of glass, and tumbling towards the courtyard outside.
"Atta!"
The Ninja shoes scraped on the ground with a screech, kicking up a slightly burnt white smoke, bringing the charging figure to a halt in the center of the lobby.
Might Guy, holding his vest which he hadn't had time to put on, wiped his nose and turned to the surrounding crowd, asking sternly, "Where is the enemy!"
Everyone present was stunned for a moment, then someone quickly spoke up, "Guy Jonin, the one you just kicked out was it."
.
"? That wasn't a summoned beast?"
Might Guy was also startled by the remark; he had thought there was another enemy.
"Well, we don't know either."
A Medical Ninja in the crowd explained, "I was in surgery just now when that monster suddenly burst in."
Although he was usually a bit slow on the uptake, Might Guy vaguely realized something was wrong when he heard this.
Who could summon such a large summoned beast in the heart of Konoha without being discovered?
As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard someone outside shout, "Guy Jonin, over there!"
He abruptly turned his head.
Then, he saw the monster, whose entire chest and abdomen had been caved in, now rapidly self-healing at an incredible speed, standing up from the ground in just a short while.
However, after getting up, the masked monster did not immediately attack.
Instead, it suddenly raised its head, and its bony mask split open from the middle, letting out a long howl towards the sky.
"Aung—!"
At this single sound, the surrounding Ninja immediately realized the situation was dire and instinctively formed battle formations to protect each other, just as they would on a battlefield.
The next moment.
Several unoccupied areas nearby were suddenly torn open with fine cracks.
Monsters, similar to the one before, also wearing bony masks but with varying body shapes, slowly crawled out from the fissures.
Their eyes glowed scarlet, and they stared greedily and recklessly at the dozens of Ninja surrounded in the center of the hospital lobby, as if they were their prey.
Might Guy looked at the cracks around him, and a sense of gloom rose in his heart.
An ambush...?
If it were just their massive bodies, it would be one thing, but if they also possessed intelligence to cooperate, then it would be difficult to handle.
At the same time Konoha Hospital was under attack.
Upon receiving the alarm, Uchiha Itachi, as the head of the Security Department, immediately led his patrol team towards Konoha Hospital.
A Hyuga Ninja beside him widened his Byakugan, veins bulging on both sides of his temples, with a look of disbelief: "Itachi-sama."
"There are seven enemies in total, all of the same type—the monsters previously recorded by the border troops."
"Several nearby squads are rushing over, and Hokage-sama has also begun to act. With Guy-sama present, there should be no danger."
"I understand."
Uchiha Itachi's expression remained unchanged, but his speed increased by half a step.
However, his mind was filled with myriad thoughts.
He was a firsthand witness to that day in Rouran Country, and also one of the few in Konoha Village who knew the reason for the appearance of these monsters. Naturally, he understood why these monsters were appearing.
Nevertheless, seeing these monsters begin to attack the Village with his own eyes, his heart couldn't help but feel somewhat conflicted.
Now, these monsters, the Hollow, were truly becoming a disaster for the Ninja World.
But would the identity of Ninja truly begin to transform step by step for this world, as Aizen-sama said?
Was he aiding a tyrant, or was he on the path of reform?
Even Uchiha Itachi himself found it difficult to say.
He had already embarked on this treacherous path, and he saw no hope of getting off.
This subtle situation truly left him with a vaguely complex feeling.
For now, he could only pray.
Pray that everything would truly unfold as Aizen-sama had said.
As expected.
By the time Uchiha Itachi and the others arrived, the seven Hollow surrounding Konoha Hospital had all been shattered one by one by Might Guy.
Because their weaknesses were unknown, most of them suffered rather gruesome deaths, with several having lost all their limbs.
Even one of them was sealed motionless within a pitch-black net.
Hiruzen Sarutobi personally arrived at the scene, looking at the wailing Konoha Hospital, his brows furrowed into a knot. He felt no relief from this small victory.
On the contrary, he was worried about the greater crisis that might appear in Konoha in the future.
In a short while, all the elders arrived, accompanied by members of the recently established Konoha Security Department, led by Kakashi Hatake.
"Is this the 'masked monster'?"
As soon as Danzo Shimura arrived at the scene, his single eye had already fallen upon the grotesque creature, completely still, surrounded by several Anbu Ninja in the center of a sealing net.
This monster, covered in a bony mask, was over four meters tall, with six arms on each side of its body, bulging muscles, and thick bones, half-crouching on the ground like a wild beast.
Its appearance was exceptionally terrifying.
Danzo Shimura looked at it with a serious expression, his thoughts inexplicable.
As the leader of Root, the underground king who controlled all of Konoha Village's external intelligence, he naturally knew about the monsters that had caused many bloody incidents in various countries these days.
However, this was the first time he had seen one with his own eyes.
"Third Hokage-sama."
While everyone was gathered around the monster, looking it over, a Ninja had already finished tallying the casualties at Konoha Hospital: "A total of sixty-seven casualties in the hospital, most of whom were ordinary people, and six Ninja were killed in action."
"According to informants within the hospital, the masked monster suddenly broke in through a spatial pathway in the corridor. No human traces were found nearby, and we have not yet been able to trace back the summoning space channel it came from."
"Not only that, several of them also displayed extraordinary healing abilities and invisibility during combat, with quite abundant Yin Release Chakra reactions."
"Only by shattering its mask can it be killed with a single blow. This should be confirmed as their common weakness."
"Hmm, this old man understands."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded with a solemn expression.
If the Anbu hadn't acted quickly enough, it would have been difficult to capture this monster alive—for no other reason than that these monsters were simply too elusive, escaping immediately after a failed attack.
Moreover, each of them seemed to possess spatial abilities.
This was something Ninja were not skilled at.
"Take it back first."
"Also, have Mr. Aizen come over—he's the Village's authority on Yin Release lifeform research."
Danzo Shimura's eyelids twitched at the mention, but he ultimately said nothing.
"Yes."
The attack on Konoha Hospital might seem like a minor incident, but because it occurred in the very center of the Village and was witnessed by many, it caused a considerable impact.
For a long time afterward, the Anbu and Root were constantly active, doing their best to quell various rumors within the Village through public opinion.
More importantly, everyone began to realize.
It seemed a new type of monster had appeared in this world, different from humans, or more accurately, precisely preying on humans.
This alone was enough to cause widespread panic.
The only thing to be thankful for was that Ninja were not entirely helpless when facing these monsters.
However, compared to the ordinary people's simple fear of the monsters themselves, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Sandaime Hokage, saw things on a higher level.
He was pondering the reason for the sudden appearance of these monsters.
And how they would change the world's power structure.
All of this was pushing him to research the essence of these monsters.
Another half month passed, and when the research team had initial results, Aizen was immediately summoned to the Hokage Office.
This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi and several elders were all present... According to the team's research, this creature should be a transformation from human souls, alienated into its current form through some kind of meme or virus, formed by the materialization of pure malice or obsession."
"If that's difficult to understand, esteemed sirs, you can think of it as a pure Yin Release product born from the souls of the deceased."
"Currently, I have tentatively named it Hollow."
Aizen Sōsuke calmly began to explain before everyone.
However, upon hearing this conclusion, everyone present looked astonished.
"Born from the souls of the deceased?!"
"Meme? Hollow Virus? Is this also a disease?"
"Yin Release product..."
"How is this possible?"
Upon hearing this result, everyone instinctively wanted to deny it.
Because if this wasn't something specially created by certain ambitious individuals, but a monster that proliferated from the souls of the deceased like a disease, wouldn't that mean this monster was incurable?
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Aizen had already discussed this, so his expression remained relatively calm upon hearing this conclusion. He raised a hand to stop Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado's questioning and continued, "Mr. Aizen."
"Since this is also considered a disease, is there a way to eradicate it from human souls? For example, a special way of handling corpses?"
"Unfortunately, Third Hokage-sama," Aizen Sōsuke shook his head regretfully, "This 'disease' has nothing to do with corpses; the key lies in the deceased's obsession before death."
"I'm afraid as long as human hearts don't change, this virus will continue to spread."
"Even whether we are currently 'infected' is an unknown."
"The appearance of Hollows is very likely to become a norm in the Ninja World."
Upon hearing this, everyone present's faces turned exceptionally grim.
Only Danzo Shimura's expression suddenly calmed, and he tapped his finger on the tabletop: "Monsters... becoming a common occurrence in the world?"
"Mr. Aizen."
"What is the probability of these monsters being born from human souls?"
Aizen Sōsuke seemed momentarily stunned by the question, and after a moment of hesitation, replied, "I apologize, Danzo-sama."
"Due to the small sample size, we are temporarily unable to derive relevant statistical results."
"However, based on current estimates, it is unlikely to exceed three per thousand among Ninja."
However, upon hearing this number, Danzo Shimura suddenly slammed the table, the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curving upwards, and his fists clenched tightly—an uncontrollable excitement and thrill: "Three per thousand!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were all startled, instinctively turning to look at him.
Then, they saw Danzo Shimura also looking back at them with burning eyes, and he spoke, "Hiruzen."
"The future of our Konoha is about to change!"
Danzo Shimura, acutely, smelled an opportunity in this crisis.