Naruto: From Fake to Real, Deceiving the Ninja World

Chapter 566 Hinata Kumokawa: I'm very sad right now.

Outside the entrance to the fourth level of the underground palace, there was a suffocating silence.

A deep darkness filled the wide space at the entrance, swallowing up all light and sound.

Only the massive, tightly closed door, illuminated by the dim light, outlined a cold, imposing silhouette.

Hinata Kumokawa sat cross-legged on the ground in front of the door, relaxed and even somewhat casual, with his wrists resting on his knees.

"Okay, that's all I have to say. That's about it."

His tone was calm, with a faint smile playing on his lips as he looked at Orochimaru, who was huddled in the shadows not far away.

"Now you should understand how important you are to me, right?"

no respond.

Orochimaru looks terrible.

He had almost lost his human form, resembling a lump of mud barely maintaining a human-like outline, remaining motionless for a long time, as if he were truly dead.

The only signs of Orochimaru's life, appearing only occasionally, were the rise and fall of his chest, indicating that his last breath had not yet completely dissipated.

Hinata Kumokawa wasn't in a hurry.

He simply stretched out his hand, which had been resting on his knee, and braced himself against the ground beside him. He stood up naturally, dusted off non-existent dust from his hands, and strode toward Orochimaru.

Why————

Orochimaru's hoarse, dry voice finally broke the long silence.

"Hmm?" Hyuga Kumokawa stopped and looked down at Orochimaru, tilting his head in confusion. "What? Why?"

""

Why————

Orochimaru repeated, his voice rising slightly, a hint of malice creeping into his previously listless tone: "You're going to put on an act like I should be proud of it?"

Hinata Kumokawa didn't answer, but just looked at him quietly and shook his head.

"Orochimaru," he said, "you know what? We're actually quite alike."

He took a small step forward, slowly squatted down, his posture still relaxed, as if two equals were having a heart-to-heart talk.

Orochimaru's gray hair, withered and dry like withered grass, hung limply, covering most of his face and concealing all his expressions. Yun Shi just stared at Orochimaru's obscured face.

"We all possess a vision beyond the norm, allowing us to see landscapes that ordinary people cannot comprehend or even fear."

"We are all capable of using any means necessary to achieve our goals."

"Dignity, emotions, morality, and even the lives and souls of others can all be bargaining chips in the face of our goals; they can be measured and discarded."

"We are all capable of giving up a lot in order to achieve our goals."

"Comfort, acceptance, constraints, and even—a part of the self."

He paused, his gaze seemingly drifting away for a moment, but quickly refocused and landed on Orochimaru.

"So, I chose you," Hinata Kumokawa said with emotion. "In a way, I actually chose myself."

"It's simply because I'm in a higher position than you and can see further than you. If I were in your shoes..."

"Faced with the unknown and temptations, one will only be guided, shaped, and pushed to a precipice with no way back —"

He leaned slightly forward, lowering his voice to almost a whisper: "My fate will be the same as yours."

"So, whether you believe it or not—" he said softly, "I'm very sad right now."

"I'm saddened by your departure."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hyuga Kumokawa's long, slender hand reached towards Orochimaru's neck.

but----

"roar!"

A low growl filled with resentment and madness rang out, and Orochimaru's head, which had been hanging low and covered by his gray and withered hair, suddenly rose.

Those once cold, serpentine eyes were now blood red, filled with hideous blood vessels, fixed firmly on Hinata Kumokawa's outstretched hand, and even more so on his calm, expressionless face.

He was no longer a schemer, no longer a scientist, not even human, but someone driven to the brink, with nowhere left to retreat.

A trapped beast with its fangs bared.

"Transformation through non-action!"

Orochimaru pressed his hands to the ground and roared with his last bit of strength.

Rumble!!!

The rocks that make up the fourth layer of the underground palace seem to have been given life, forcibly twisted and reshaped, and endowed with a will that transcends matter itself.

The originally hard and cold rock wall undulated and bulged like the writhing entrails of a giant beast, its surface gleaming with a cold, metallic luster, its hardness instantly increased to be comparable to that of a diamond.

The ground beneath our feet transformed into a raging, furious sea, undulating and churning, with rocks crashing and pounding like waves!

Thud! Thud thud!

Sharp rock spikes, like a thicket of thorns, burst forth from all directions, from the walls, the ground, and the overhead rock dome, piercing towards Hyuga Kumokawa with a shrill whistling sound that seemed to tear through the air.

However, faced with Orochimaru's sudden, desperate counterattack, Hyuga Kumokawa showed not a trace of surprise on his face.

Deep within those clear eyes, a dense array of sharp spikes pierced from all directions was reflected, a calmness that sent shivers down one's spine.

hum!

An immense and overwhelming pressure erupted from him.

That was an unimaginably vast amount of chakra, condensed to the point of being tangible, which burst forth from his body, forming a visible wave of energy that instantly expanded outwards!

Those rock spikes, with a hardness comparable to diamonds, shattered into dust the moment they touched the air blast!

The dense explosions blended together, and all the rock spikes that came from any direction, no matter how thick or sharp, were completely crushed by the unparalleled force.

Gravel and powder fell softly, stirring up a thick cloud of dust that obscured visibility.

In that instant when the dust and fog obstructed visibility...

"hiss!"

Orochimaru's figure moved with ghostly speed, breaking through the thick dust and bringing with it a stench as he pounced on his prey like a venomous python.

That hand, with its five fingers forming a claw, reached for Hinata Kumokawa's neck, for Hinata Kumokawa's throat.

With the power and authority of "Snake Princess" that affects the soul, he can instantly distort and reshape the soul of the target as long as he touches it, even if it is just a fingertip brushing against it.

Only when you encounter —

Orochimaru's bloodshot, ferocious eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he stared intently at Hyuga Kumokawa, who was so close at hand.

The neck appears completely unguarded.

It was as if I could already see my fingers digging into the other person's flesh, feel the wonderful tremor as the power was activated, and see the pain finally appear on the other person's calm face—

However----

"Oh.

A soft chuckle reached Orochimaru's ears.

Faced with that withered, claw-like hand reaching out, a hand that could decide life or death with a single touch, Hyuga Kumokawa neither dodged nor blocked.

He simply raised one hand as well.

The movements were not fast; one could even say they were leisurely.

Under Orochimaru's watchful gaze, his five fingers naturally spread out and steadily met the attack.

Five fingers interlocked.

Hinata Kumokawa's distinct, segmented hand grasped Orochimaru's withered hand.

Their hands were pressed together, their fingers slowly tightening, clasping tightly in a gesture that appeared almost intimate to outsiders.

What————

Orochimaru's face became stiff and blank.

A bone-chilling cold instantly replaced the near-death madness, freezing Orochimaru's blood.

He could feel the warmth from the other person's palm and the steady grip.

However, the power that attempted to activate the "Inaction Transformation" vanished without a trace the moment it touched Hyuga Kumokawa, without causing the slightest ripple.

It was as if he had never possessed this power, or perhaps this power was simply ineffective against the opponent.

"You want to use the power I gave you to fight me?"

Hyuga Kumokawa tilted his head slightly, looking at Orochimaru's trembling snake eyes, and continued, "Finally, let me tell you one more thing, Orochimaru."

Hinata Kumokawa's voice became gentler, like a teacher admonishing him: "Your only mistake was not ambition, not cruelty, not unscrupulousness."

"I even admire these things."

"Your only mistake is thinking that you have become a perfect being."

"But in fact, there is no such thing as a perfect being in this world, nor should there be."

"It is precisely because of imperfection that we have desires, deficiencies, regrets, pain, aspirations, and pursuits."

"That's why you, in the past, and I, in the present, yearn for and endlessly pursue that perfection."

"But perfection itself is meaningless."

A smile slowly appeared on Hinata Kumokawa's face: "If a perfect being truly appears in this world, then it means that this world—"

That's all.

There is nothing more perfect than it, no higher mountain to look up to, no deeper mystery to explore, and no longer road to travel.

"Everything will come to a standstill," he said, shaking his head slightly. "What a boring world that would be."

"I've said too much. Okay, that's enough." Hinata Kumokawa sighed. "Congratulations, you can wrap up filming now."

.

As soon as he finished speaking, the five fingers that were holding Orochimaru's hand twitched slightly.

hum! !

Orochimaru unconsciously opened his mouth wide, making a hoarse sound in his throat. Starting from the arm that Hyuga Kumokawa was holding, his body began to change.

Twisting, rotating, and collapsing inward.

Centered on their clasped hands, the skin, muscles, and bones of their arms, along with the soul, chakra, memories, knowledge, and all existence contained within them—

Then the shoulders, chest, torso, the other arm, the legs, the head—

Under that irresistible force, everything was forcibly twisted and compressed, converging towards that point.

"This is... the Snake Princess's Inaction Reincarnation, actually used on me—" This was the last thought in Orochimaru's mind.

In just a few breaths, Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin who once dominated the world and instilled fear in countless people, had completely vanished.

All that remained in Hinata Kumokawa's hand was a sphere about the size of a fist, with a dark color, a smooth surface, and swirling vortices inside.

"good."

Hinata Kumokawa toyed with the sphere formed by Orochimaru and "Snake Princess" in his hand, a smile appearing on his face: "Now I can keep my promise to that brat."

Orochimaru, who once became the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, ultimately transcended the hierarchy of life forms, and with the addition of the "Snake Princess" who had undergone several transformations—

He can do a lot with this.

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