Hollowfication

In the forest outside Konoha, in the Land of Fire.

Moonlight filtered through the leaves.

A hint of chill hung in the air.

A spatial rift opened soundlessly, giving off a faint purple glow.

Then,

Chen Xiaoxi stepped out, dressed in black.

The rift closed in an instant.

"Well,"

"Why not unleash... the power of Hollowfication right here?"

Chen Xiaoxi smiled and raised a hand to his face.

The Hollowfication Power of the Shinigami

was a reward the system had given him when he first joined Akatsuki.

Until now, he had never revealed this power in front of anyone else.

That didn't mean he wasn't proficient with it, though.

After all, whenever he'd been sent on a mission, he'd secretly trained with the Hollow Mask.

As a result, he could already control this power with ease and freedom.

And,

thanks to the Recovery Potion, he didn't need to worry about running out of spiritual energy, either.

That's right.

The Recovery Potion awarded by the system was an infinite-use item with a cooldown of only ten minutes. It was ridiculously overpowered!

Its effects were simple: "heal injuries" + "restore spiritual energy."

In other words, it replenished health and mana.

In theory, as long as Chen Xiaoxi used the item at the right time and didn't overdraw his Reiatsu, he could remain Hollowfied forever!

A perfect match.

Chen Xiaoxi smiled as the Void Reiatsu gathering in his palm grew denser and denser.

At last, when it reached its limit, a series of tremors began to ring out from within the Reiatsu.

Chen Xiaoxi focused and murmured, "Hollowfication."

The moment the words left his mouth, the Void Reiatsu in his palm burst into streams of light!

In the next instant, the streams of light clung to Chen Xiaoxi's face and turned into a white radiance that enveloped him!

Then the white light began to expand rapidly, like a ribbon flowing down from Chen Xiaoxi's neck and chest. It spread farther until it covered his entire body and limbs—even the Zanpakuto at his waist.

The silent Void Reiatsu surged wildly, making the space around him tremble!

In that moment, the weeds and leaves around Chen Xiaoxi shattered and turned to dust!

In the forest,

the light surrounding Chen Xiaoxi outshone the moon!

A moment later,

all the light began to draw inward.

Chen Xiaoxi's appearance began to change in a remarkable way.

First, his Red Cloud Black Robe—the outfit that had originally been a Shihakusho fused with the Akatsuki Uniform—changed into a moon-white Las Noches Attire!

A layer of icy light quickly spread over his Zanpakuto, turning it a pure, gleaming shade of moonlight.

Even Chen Xiaoxi's brown hair turned silver-white.

Last came his face.

The white light of Reiatsu gradually solidified in front of him.

In the end, it became a Fox Ghost Mask, its expression seeming to smile as it gave off a mysterious aura and completely hid his face!

That's right.

This was Chen Xiaoxi's masked form!

His Hollowfication changed his entire body from head to toe, transforming him into a completely new being.

And of course, the transformation brought more than just a boost to his style.

Looking cool was only one benefit.

The real improvement was in his strength!

Chen Xiaoxi's base Reiatsu had now increased to more than five times what it was before Hollowfication!

His speed, attack power, defense, and every other aspect of his abilities had been greatly enhanced!

It was a power that broke through the boundary between the souls of Shinigami and Hollows.

Chen Xiaoxi lowered his head,

looked at his new moon-white outfit, and smiled faintly.

He might have made Hollowfication look effortless.

But for an ordinary Shinigami, mastering this masked form of Hollowfication would be far more difficult.

They would have to withstand the backlash from the Hollow's soul inside them and defeat the Hollow within.

Chen Xiaoxi, however, could skip those steps entirely.

That was because the Hollowfication power granted by the system came with a Hollow soul that had been perfectly fused from the very beginning.

All Chen Xiaoxi had to do was get used to this power.

The secret training he'd done over the past few months had been the perfect way to do that.

Now,

Chen Xiaoxi could switch between his spiritual states seamlessly.

Shinigami and Hollow—

in that moment, they had reached perfect balance.

Chen Xiaoxi raised his head and gazed at the cold moon hanging high in the sky. He murmured to himself, "It should be about time to begin."

Chen Xiaoxi raised a hand, released his Reiatsu, and once again opened the Garganta with practiced ease.

Then he stepped inside.

Meanwhile, elsewhere,

two mysterious figures had quietly met on the hill behind the Uchiha Compound in Konoha.

"You're here, Itachi."

The mysterious Masked Man stood with his arms crossed, gazing at the figure before him as he spoke in a low voice.

In the pale moonlight, his blood-red Sharingan seemed even more eerie.

Before him, Itachi Uchiha

lowered his gaze slightly. After a moment of silence, he said coldly, "Let's begin."

His voice was indifferent.

He was so calm that even he could hardly believe it.

The Masked Man let out a low laugh, then stepped to Itachi's side and said, "As we discussed before."

"I'll take care of the members of the Uchiha Police Force stationed at their base."

"You deal with everyone else."

"Once we're finished, meet at the agreed-upon location. Understood?"

"..."

Itachi Uchiha didn't answer.

Instead, he turned and leaped away, disappearing into the night.

His silence said everything.

The Masked Man's gaze flickered slightly.

"Heh..."

"To think he'd go this far for Konoha."

"Sure enough,"

"this is what they call the product of the Will of Fire."

After speaking to himself,

the Masked Man vanished into a swirling vortex.

From that moment on,

the clan's extermination began in earnest.

By the end of the night,

aside from Sasuke Uchiha,

there wouldn't be a single survivor left in the Uchiha Clan of Konoha.

At that moment, the Uchiha Compound was

as quiet as it had been on any other night.

Most members of Konoha's Military Police Force were stationed at their base, while most of the clan had already gone to bed and fallen asleep.

Only a few key locations still had members of the Police Force standing guard.

At that moment, atop a utility pole,

a black-clad figure suddenly appeared.

He wore the gray uniform of Konoha Anbu and had a long sword strapped to his back. Even behind his mask, the red glow of his eyes was just barely visible.

The Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai: the Sharingan.

The figure silently surveyed the Uchiha Compound in the darkness, the familiar place.

He had lived here and trained here since he was a child.

Every brick and tile held a memory for him.

But now,

he knew he had to cut himself off from those memories.