In a hidden cave near the border of Land of Wind, the ground shook. A dull but piercing explosion tore through the quiet. A rock wall covered in vines and moss burst apart, sending Gravel flying as smoke and a strong smell of blood spread out.
A battered figure was thrown from the cave entrance. Hiruko coughed violently and spat out chunks of Gravel, his face smeared with ash.
"What happened? Why did it explode?" he muttered as he struggled to his feet. "That batch of test materials was already stable."
When he looked up, his body stiffened. His bloodshot eyes widened as he stared at the cave entrance still pouring out smoke.
From the rubble, a black figure with a cold and lifeless aura slowly crawled out. Its movements were stiff, yet unsettling.
"What kind of thing is that?" Hiruko cried, his voice shaking. "My test subject, how did it become this?"
He clearly remembered that the cave held his latest batch of Chimera Technique experiments. They were dozens of wandering Ninja captured from border countries.
A painful groan came from deeper in the rubble. Another experiment subject was still alive, crushed beneath Gravel.
The black monster turned its head at once, its crimson eyes locking onto the sound. Its body lunged forward with unnatural speed.
A blurred soul was forcibly torn from the body. The dying scream stopped at once.
"It is eating souls?" Hiruko gasped as a chill ran up his spine.
Did he create this? No, he had never studied anything related to souls. That field belonged to that snake.
As the thought struck him, he stared at the monster again. The bone mask, the soul devouring, the hollow chest.
This form. This mask.
A name he once mocked flashed through his mind.
Xu?!
"You have got to be kidding me."
Thinking of how Orochimaru used to obsessively talk about 'Xu', Hiruko's voice trembled. He had always thought the Scroll treasured by Orochimaru was fake.
But now, looking at the monster greedily feeding on souls, perfectly matching Orochimaru's description, his face went stiff.
"Everything in the Scroll was true?" he muttered. "Xu really exists?"
As his mind reeled, the 'Xu' slowly turned and fixed its crimson gaze on him. Hiruko stepped back instinctively, then steadied himself.
"Hmph. I do not care what you are," he said coldly. "You will make a fine new research sample."
In the Land of Fire, behind the casino on Tanzaku Street, the night was deep but the noise had not faded. Inside the casino, lights blazed and voices clashed as dice and chips struck the tables. Smoke, alcohol, and sweat mixed into a heavy smell.
On the second floor, inside a luxury private room, Tsunade lay sprawled on the table with flushed cheeks and unfocused eyes. Shizune stood beside her, holding Tonton with a worried look.
"One more, one more cup," Tsunade mumbled as she slapped the table.
"Lady Tsunade, you really cannot drink anymore. We should go back," Shizune urged.
Suddenly, loud shouting drew attention.
"Ah!"
"Beat him to death! He will not pay his debts!"
"Spare me! Just one more chance, I will win it back!"
The screams pierced through the soundproof door and reached Tsunade's ears. She raised her head and looked out the window.
Under the dim streetlight, several burly thugs were kicking a thin man curled on the ground. Blood poured from his mouth and nose, staining the mud beneath him.
"Please, just one day," the man begged weakly. "I know I will win next time."
"Win?" a thug sneered and kicked his ribs hard.
kacha!
A clear cracking sound rang out as the man screamed. Another thug spat and raised a short club.
"You dare gamble without money. Do you think you are Tsunade, that big fat lamb?"
Tsunade's face darkened slightly, but she did not interfere. This happened often, and she still owed the casino money.
"I will win it back," the man muttered, eyes wide with madness. "I sold my wife and children, I will win it back."
The iron club came down on the back of his head.
kacha!
His body stiffened, and all sound stopped. The light faded from his eyes as blood spread beneath him.
The thugs cursed and ordered the body dragged away. Two of them grabbed his ankles like they were hauling a dead dog.
Tsunade frowned at the sight. Shizune stood beside her, clearly uneasy.
At that moment, the corpse suddenly twitched. The thugs froze.
Before they could react, under the surge of negative emotions from the casino, the corpse split open. A black shadow covered in pale bone tore out from beneath the skin.
A bone mask covered most of its face. Two crimson lights flared in its eye sockets.
"What is that?"
The nearest thug barely screamed before the newborn 'Xu' pounced on him. A pale blue soul was torn out, leaving the body limp.
Screams erupted as people scattered in panic. From the window, Tsunade's pupils shrank as she watched the monster devour a soul.
She could sense many more such presences appearing nearby. Her expression turned serious, completely sober.
"Monsters, or something else?" she muttered.
Tanzaku Street descended into chaos as screams echoed everywhere. After feeding, the 'Xu' looked toward the distance.
What drew these ordinary 'Xu' was not souls alone, but scattered mental energy born from negative emotions. They could all feel it, the place with the strongest concentration.
The Daimyo's residence.
At the same time, not only Land of Fire, the Land of Water, and Land of Hot Water, but also Land of Wind, Land of Earth, Land of Lightning, and other regions of the Ninja World saw 'Xu' appear. The wave raised from the Void Realm began to spread across the world.
The one responsible stood inside a laboratory in Konoha. Cold white light poured down from the ceiling, bathing the room in a pale glow with the smell of disinfectant in the air.
Yunchuan Hyuga stood by the observation window, looking at the 'Xu' bound by countless Sealing Technique chains. His face was serious, but his eyes were calm.
Along with him were Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado. A middle aged man in a white coat stepped forward.
"How is the research going?" Danzo Shimura asked.
"We have conducted seventy three targeted experiments and seventeen simulations," the man reported calmly. "We can confirm several traits."
"First, ordinary five element Ninjutsu are almost ineffective. For example, Fire Release Ninjutsu passes through the body like fire through a shadow."
"Only attacks on the mask cause meaningful damage."
"Why?" Koharu Utatane asked.
The man showed an image of the creature's structure, split into two colors. "The black body is a highly condensed form of mental energy."
"So its body is like a mass of mental energy, similar to the Nara Clan's Shadow Secret Technique?" Danzo Shimura asked.
"Yes," the man replied. "It cannot truly interact with physical matter, and physical attacks cannot harm it."
Yunchuan Hyuga interrupted. "So does that mean Ninjutsu are useless?"
"Not exactly," the man said. "The Chakra within Ninjutsu can damage it, but only by consumption, not destruction."
"Five element Ninjutsu lose most mental energy after transformation. Pure, untyped techniques like Chakra Scalpel are much more effective."
"What about its bones?" Danzo Shimura asked.
"The bone structures, especially the mask, are material," the man said. "They can be struck and destroyed."
A video showed a claw being severed and slowly reforming. "Limbs can recover, but the mask cannot."
"If the mask breaks, the mental energy collapses at once," he continued. "That is why they protect it."
"They attack by devouring souls, by physical claw strikes, and by high density energy beams similar to Cero."