A black pattern emerged on Simu's scale-covered face, making his appearance even more menacing.
Two dragon horns curved upward, as if ready to pierce the sky, and his height reached an astonishing seven meters.
Countless laser beams bloomed from his fingertips, turning into a rainstorm of light that rained down on the Sand Shinobi troops.
"It's Hanyu Simu! He's here!"
As the only known Light Release user in the ninja world, this move had practically become Simu's signature technique.
The six thousand Sand Shinobi all looked grim.
Although Simu had once killed the Third Kazekage and was a sworn enemy of the Land of Wind, his strength was undeniable and could not be taken lightly.
Numerous Sand Shinobi rushed out from their ranks and formed hand seals in unison.
"United Ninja Art: Wind Style – Sand Formation!"
Violent gusts of wind spewed from their mouths, merging into a massive hurricane.
The barrage of light beams released by Simu was swept away by the high-speed rotating winds.
"Hanyu Simu, this time you'll pay with blood!"
If any nation hated Simu the most, it was without a doubt the Land of Wind.
The Land of Earth had merely lost two tailed beasts.
The Land of Wind had lost a Kazekage.
That's why they deployed the largest number of troops this time. More than any other force, they were determined to eliminate Simu.
Thousands of ninjas launched Wind Style techniques, bombarding the enemy from afar.
Simu frowned slightly.
The burly figure stood motionless, enduring the full force of the incoming hurricane.
Every gust of wind was like a blade, carving deep grooves into the stone ground.
Some small boulders were cleaved clean in half, their surfaces polished smooth from the slicing winds.
But when these incredibly sharp wind blades struck the scales covering Simu's body, they produced nothing more than harmless sparks.
The hurricane howled past.
The landscape was swept barren, left looking like a ruined wasteland.
Yet Simu stood there with his arms folded, completely unscathed.
Even his coat of justice had been safely stored away in a scroll beforehand.
With the combined power of the Phantom Beast Fruit, an admiral-level physique, and Armament Haki, such ordinary ninjutsu had absolutely no effect on him.
The Sand Shinobi's faces were filled with disbelief.
Thousands of Wind Style techniques, cast at the same time… and they couldn't even scratch him?
Was this some kind of joke?
The harsh truth dealt a huge blow to their morale.
Simu seemed completely unaware of how devastating his presence alone had been to their fighting spirit.
Of course, even if he had noticed, he wouldn't have cared.
"Since you like Wind Style so much… let me show you what real wind power looks like."
He spoke as if making casual small talk.
The power of his Devil Fruit surged wildly within his body.
His form expanded rapidly, stretching inch by inch, until he transformed into a colossal eastern dragon several hundred meters long.
The planet's gravity seemed unable to bind him.
Despite his massive size, he floated easily into the sky.
"…What is that…?"
Ye Cang, the commander of the Sand Shinobi forces, looked pale and shaken.
Even though she had received the latest intelligence on Hanyu Simu from the Land of Earth before the battle began...
Ninja warfare was often about information.
Knowing your opponent's signature techniques allowed you to predict their weaknesses and prepare countermeasures.
But Simu was a complete anomaly.
From Light Release to Sage Mode to now Beast Transformation...
Each new power was more ridiculous than the last.
The ninja villages couldn't analyze and adapt fast enough. His growth outpaced their intelligence-gathering.
Worse yet, every one of Simu's abilities was terrifyingly powerful—making him nearly impossible to counter.
In the past, they might have used traps and sealing techniques to contain his Light Release.
But this… this massive dragon before them was even larger than a tailed beast.
What kind of sealing technique could possibly work on that?
Simu gathered nature energy in his hands, merging it with the power of the Devil Fruit.
He opened his massive maw, and the surrounding air twisted with violent distortion.
All the air was sucked into his fanged mouth at incredible speed.
"Sage Art: Tempest Fang!"
The compressed wind exploded out of his mouth, unleashing hundreds of scythe-like wind slashes in rapid succession.
Each crescent-shaped blast was five to six meters long.
To a human-sized shinobi, a direct hit would mean instant death or, at best, losing more than half their body.
"An even more exaggerated technique than the Kamaitachi Jutsu..." Ye Cang muttered under her breath.
"When did this guy even learn such an advanced Wind Style attack?"
Facing this overwhelming area-of-effect assault, even a veteran commander like her felt a flicker of fear.
The Sand Shinobi troops once again launched a coordinated group ninjutsu.
Bright, razor-sharp slashes fell into the raging hurricane.
Although the trajectory was slightly off, the slashes still landed squarely on the battlefield—right in the middle of the Sand Shinobi's formation.
Large and small rocks, and even the ground itself, were cleaved apart the moment the slashes struck.
"Damn it!"
A Sand Shinobi raised his blade, chakra surging and coating his ninja sword as he slashed at a falling wave of energy from above.
But it only lasted a second.
The chakra-infused blade snapped in half.
The momentum of the slash didn't falter—it continued forward, slicing the Sand Shinobi clean in two.
In moments, the battlefield was torn to shreds, as if a massive kitchen knife had hacked wildly through the earth.
The Sand Shinobi suffered even greater losses.
While the Jōnin held their ground, many Chūnin and Genin who couldn't dodge in time stood no chance against Simu's brutal attack.
Ye Cang stood frozen, staring at the shattered battlefield.
She looked down at a fallen comrade—his body cleanly severed in two.
Her heart filled with grief, yet there was nothing she could do.
Against a top-tier powerhouse like Simu...
The only thing regular shinobi could offer was their lives—to wear him down and buy time for the real finishing move.
No matter what, they had to kill him here!
That was the shared determination of all the Jōnin, including Ye Cang herself.
"Hanyu Simu! I'm here to end you!"
Ye Cang roared.
Seeing her take action, several Jōnin instantly formed hand seals.
A powerful gust of wind erupted beneath her feet, launching her into the air and toward the massive dragon hovering above.
Simu, though enormous, was aware of everything on the battlefield thanks to his powerful Observation Haki.
To him, Ye Cang looked no larger than a fly.
Her twin buns whipped violently in the wind, and her gaze burned with unwavering resolve.
"Scorch Style: Oversteamed Fire Dragon!"
A crimson flame condensed into a fire dragon, hurtling toward Simu.
The moisture in the air along its path evaporated instantly.
If an ordinary person were struck by this attack, they would be reduced to a mummy in seconds.
Ye Cang's strength had grown far beyond the standard Jōnin—more than tripled, even.
She was now one of Sunagakure's strongest Jōnin.
But this fire dragon... was a mere toy in front of the colossal beast Simu had become.
Looking down at the fearless Ye Cang, Simu sighed inwardly.
Such loyalty to Sunagakure... yet in the end, she would be betrayed by the very village she served.
What a pity.
But now, they were enemies.
A trace of disdain flashed in Simu's golden dragon eyes.
A violent cyclone swirled within his massive claws.
With precise control, he swiped at the incoming fire dragon.
Under that immense pressure, Ye Cang's technique shattered instantly.
Simu twisted his enormous body, opened his mouth, and lunged toward her.
Ye Cang plummeted under the pull of gravity.
But Simu was faster.
And without the ability to fly, Ye Cang was like a helpless fish in the air—completely at his mercy.
As Simu's jaws opened wide—
Ye Cang smiled.
A dozen puppets suddenly shot up from the ground.
They resembled various insects, and as they flew through the air, compartments on their bellies opened simultaneously.
Simu narrowed his eyes. He could feel the danger.
Sure enough, several sealing scrolls sprang from the puppets' bodies.
The scrolls quickly unfurled, revealing pitch-black sealing marks.
A surge of chakra erupted from them, forming dozens of glowing chains that wrapped tightly around the massive dragon's body.
"Simu, you won't escape."
"This is Sunagakure's Thousand Lock Seal."
Ye Cang landed firmly on the ground.
This seal could even restrain Shukaku, the One-Tail. It was one of Sunagakure's most prized sealing techniques.
To ensure Simu's capture, the village had pulled out all the stops.
She stared intently at the restrained dragon.
"The Thousand Lock Seal halts all chakra flow. You'd better surrender now."
Simu tilted his head.
It was true—his chakra had entered a stagnant state.
But…
This girl misunderstood something important.
I don't even need chakra.
Suddenly, the massive dragon raised its head.
A terrifying shockwave of force erupted from Simu's body.
The sealing chains tightened and groaned, straining under the immense pressure.
"Impossible! How is he still able to move chakra?!"
Ye Cang's eyes widened in disbelief as the thick chains binding Simu shattered into pieces!
The light-blue chakra dispersed into the air like drifting fireflies.
The dragon raised its head, flames gathering in its maw.
Now that the seal had been broken—his chakra surged back into motion.
"Immortal Art: Heat Breath!"
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