He concluded, "The best method is to destroy the mask using untyped Ninjutsu or weapons enhanced with Chakra and Taijutsu."
The three elders fell silent. Then Yunchuan Hyuga asked quietly, "Then how do we kill the 'Espada'?"
"..."
After hearing the question raised by Yunchuan Hyuga, the middle-aged man took a deep breath. A bitter smile appeared on his face as he steadied himself.
He swiped across the screen in his hand and switched the display, pulling up several video clips that were extremely blurry and violently shaking. It was obvious they had been filmed from a great distance.
In the footage, three figures could vaguely be seen, each giving off a terrifying presence. They were members of the Espada known by the codenames "White Fang", "Puppeteer", and "Uzumaki".
"Because we have not yet captured a similar 'Xu', Root can only rely on the intelligence we currently have and the data we have collected," the man said. "Those three individuals who once appeared at Uchiha Clan Grounds..."
His voice carried an unmistakable trace of awe as he continued. "Whether in body structure or combat patterns, they are fundamentally different from the 'Xu' we captured."
He pointed at the figure labeled "White Fang" on the screen, whose entire body was covered in pale white bone armor, with massive bone blades crossed behind its back.
"Taking 'White Fang' as an example, we believe that its entire body, both the skeletal parts and the internal structure, exists in a highly condensed physical state."
"We suspect that the mental energy inside it has been compressed, condensed, and solidified to an unbelievable degree. Its density and stability are equal to, or even surpass, steel."
The middle-aged man then switched to the image of "Uzumaki" and explained, "Based on what Root currently knows, 'Uzumaki' is similar. Its methods of attack, like 'White Fang', focus on pure physical destruction."
"In other words, these beings known as the 'Espada' have surpassed the category of ordinary 'Xu'. They are truly intelligent entities with awareness and thought."
"Their entire bodies, including skin, muscles, bones, and any other part, can directly touch and destroy matter, and can also be directly struck by physical attacks."
Hearing this, Danzo Shimura's eyes lit up, and he spoke hoarsely. "Does that mean conventional Five Release Ninjutsu and physical damage can hurt them as well?"
After hearing this, the middle-aged man subconsciously adjusted his glasses, hiding the flicker of speechless frustration in his eyes as he patiently explained.
"Danzo Shimura-sama, you are correct. Because they are fully materialized, the physical damage of ordinary Ninjutsu is no longer ineffective. It can affect their bodies just like it would a normal ninja."
"But I think you have forgotten one thing."
"This also means they are no longer like those 'Xu', where only the skeletal parts can interact physically. Every part of their body can be used as a weapon."
"And with such high-strength bodies, their physical durability is terrifying, with powerful resistance and recovery."
"The skeletal structure is still the strongest part of their bodies."
At these words, Danzo Shimura's expression stiffened slightly, while the eyes of Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado grew darker.
Even dealing with a single humanoid monster like this would require an enormous cost. Yet there were at least three of them.
"And then there is the last one, 'Puppeteer'," the middle-aged man said, pausing before continuing. "Its body is also highly materialized, but the 'threads' it uses are not physical threads."
"Based on our analysis, they are chakra threads."
Hearing this, Homura Mitokado blurted out, "Chakra threads? The kind used by puppet masters to control puppets?"
"Yes," the man nodded. "The chakra threads used by puppet masters are extensions of self-awareness, essentially a form of mental energy."
"However, the chakra threads of normal puppet masters are extremely fragile, and most of them lack the focus to control multiple puppets at once. That is no different from splitting one's mind."
"Only a very small number of genius puppet masters, such as Monzaemon, who learned the Second Kazekage's developed puppet techniques and improved them to create the 'Chikamatsu Ten Puppets', could control multiple puppets alone."
Koharu Utatane said in a low voice, "But even that Monzaemon only controlled ten puppets that were dead objects. That 'Puppeteer'..."
Danzo Shimura could not help recalling the scene where "Puppeteer" stood in the air, using countless threads to make Konoha ninja kill one another. He slowly drew in a breath.
"This is exactly where 'Puppeteer' is terrifying," the middle-aged man said gravely. "What it does is essentially split its own will into dozens of parts, suppress the self-awareness of the controlled targets, and then precisely manipulate their bodies as puppets."
"No, they should not be called puppets. They should be called 'puppets'. Just like its name, it is a 'human Puppeteer'."
"Based on Root's guess, if 'Puppeteer' were to compress and condense all of its mental energy into a small number of chakra threads, those threads would likely possess terrifying hardness and sharpness."
"At present, we do not know the upper limit of how many puppets 'Puppeteer' can control. We estimate that the difficulty depends on the mental strength of the 'puppets' and the chakra involved."
"To destroy any one of the Five Great Ninja Villages head-on by itself is probably still beyond its reach."
"But the most critical point is this. Such a powerful 'Puppeteer' was referred to by that 'Shadow' as merely 'Espada Number Three'."
"If this number represents a ranking of strength within the Espada, then..."
The middle-aged man did not continue, but the faces of Danzo Shimura and the other two twitched slightly. They clearly understood what this implied.
It meant that among the "Espada" who appeared that day, only the one ranked third, "Puppeteer", had shown any real ability. The other two, "Uzumaki" and "White Fang", never revealed their true power at all.
If the Espada truly had ten members as its name suggested, then even excluding that "Shadow", there were at least two or three existences stronger than "Puppeteer".
Espada Number Zero, Espada Number One, Espada Number Two.
If they were like "Puppeteer", with the power to slaughter any small nation or even overthrow a ninja village, the consequences were hard to imagine.
"To put it simply," Yunchuan Hyuga concluded, "the 'Espada' are no longer in the transitional state of being half energy and half matter like ordinary 'Xu'. They are fully physical."
"This means that when facing the 'Espada', we do not need to exhaust ourselves trying to strike the single mask weakness like we do with other 'Xu'."
"In theory, although the effect is limited, attacking any part of their bodies can harm them. At the same time, it also means that the 'Espada' have almost no true weaknesses."
"Their threat level has risen exponentially. They are no longer 'monsters' that kill by instinct, but beings with immense power and human-level intelligence."
Danzo Shimura and the others listened in silence, staring at the blurry yet oppressive figures on the screen. The heaviness in their eyes grew deeper.
"Shadow", "Espada", "Void Realm".
The three silently repeated these names to themselves, as an unprecedented sense of crisis pressed down on them all at once.
Just the appearance of three members of the "Espada" had already caused severe losses to Konoha. What about the remaining seven?