Simu gripped his mace tightly. The rising heat from his body caused water vapor to constantly evaporate from his skin, forming wisps of white smoke that curled into the air.
He looked up at Ōnoki, who was floating mid-air.
Although he knew this was part of the enemy's psychological warfare, it didn't hurt to hear him out.
"Go on. I'm listening."
A cunning glint flashed through the old eyes of Ōnoki.
"It was that old man Danzo."
"He ordered Root to leak intel about Konoha's troop movements to both the Rock and Sand Shinobi. That's how we were able to ambush you so precisely."
Simu's expression didn't change. He replied flatly, unsurprised:
"Elder Danzo, huh? Sounds about right. That old rat's always been like this."
"To him, the way to protect Konoha has always been simple—eliminate all the new-generation geniuses of Konoha."
"Only then can he better position himself to become Hokage."
"So it's no surprise that others have joined forces to take me down."
But seeing that his words hadn't shaken Simu, Ōnoki's heart sank. He finally dropped a bigger bombshell.
"Then tell me, do you think Sarutobi Hiruzen knows about Danzo's plans?"
"And what about your teacher—Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin—does he know?"
At last, Simu's expression changed.
He raised an eyebrow slightly and said calmly:
"Jiraiya-sensei? With his brain, there's no way he'd think of betraying me."
"As for the Third Hokage... whether he knows or not, he'll probably just pretend to be in the dark."
Ōnoki sneered.
"Though I hate you, kid, your assessment of Sarutobi Hiruzen is spot-on."
He looked at Simu with a rare trace of admiration.
"What a pity... if only you had been born in Iwagakure."
The lack of a worthy successor had always been Ōnoki's greatest regret.
"But since you killed Kitsuchi and captured our two Tailed Beasts, you'll have to pay with your life today!"
Ōnoki's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Did you really think I was the only one who came to kill you?"
Simu cracked his neck.
A group of heavily armed shinobi rapidly entered his sensory range.
Rain Shinobi troops.
Leading them was a massive salamander, and standing atop it—
Hanzo of the Salamander, the legendary leader of Amegakure, known as a demigod of the shinobi world.
"Looks like I finally get a decent workout."
Simu rolled his shoulders, the joints crunching ominously.
At the same time, Konoha's forces had just defeated the Rock Shinobi's underground ambush squad.
The Katsuyu clone attached to each Konoha shinobi transmitted the entire conversation between Simu and Ōnoki word-for-word.
Now, every Konoha ninja's face turned dark and grim.
"The village actually sold us out just to kill Lord Simu..."
"This cost the lives of two thousand comrades!"
"Lord Simu has accomplished so much for Konoha... and yet they sided with outsiders to take him out?"
Someone scoffed coldly.
"Heh... precisely because of those accomplishments. If they don't stop him now, he'll become the next Hokage for sure."
As the discussion grew more heated, a dark purple mist began to spread out from the forest.
The expressions of several shinobi near the trees changed drastically.
"Poison gas! Everyone, be careful!"
Unfortunately, the warning came too late.
Many ninjas had already inhaled the toxic fumes, collapsing to the ground in violent convulsions.
A massive black shadow loomed from the forest.
Hanzo stood atop the enormous salamander, flanked by two thousand Rain Shinobi soldiers wearing gas masks.
"It's... Rain Shinobi!"
"Aren't they supposed to be our allies?!"
Konoha's forces quickly fell back, eyes full of caution and confusion.
Hanzo looked down on them, his voice filled with murderous intent.
"Konoha dogs... a blood debt must be paid in blood."
He drew the sickle strapped to his back as the giant salamander beneath him opened its mouth, preparing to unleash another wave of poisonous gas.
But just then—
A golden light flared in the sky above Hanzo.
"Hanzo of the Salamander... your opponent is me."
Simu's massive form descended within the golden radiance.
The mace in his hand crackled with dark red lightning, crashing down like divine judgment.
Though Hanzo was old, he had once been among the strongest in the ninja world.
His reaction time, naturally, was still formidable.
In a flash, he condensed a high concentration of chakra around his sickle, slashing upward to meet the incoming strike.
Dark red Conqueror's Haki clashed with his light blue chakra.
A violent shockwave erupted from their collision, tearing apart the battlefield.
The sheer force of Simu's attack surged through Hanzo's body, causing the massive salamander beneath him to roar in agony.
The ground beneath it shattered violently under the pressure.
From afar, a piercing beam of white light shot toward them—
Simu had no choice but to give up the attack, turning into golden light and appearing in front of Konoha's troops.
The beam of light brushed past Hanzo.
Sensing the dangerous aura, Hanzo's expression darkened.
"Onoki, are you planning to get rid of me while you're at it?"
Onoki slowly flew to the battlefield with his hands behind his back.
"Now's not the time to kill you. I'm afraid I can't deal with this kid alone. He's truly terrifying."
Under normal circumstances, Onoki would have loved to get rid of the old man Hanzo of the Salamander and then send a Rock Shinobi army to seize the Land of Rain.
But not today. Their biggest enemy was Konoha—and Hanyu Simu standing before them.
Hanzo snorted coldly and said nothing more.
Simu landed on the ground and waved his mace at the thunder wolf that had begun to dissipate.
A violent gust of wind swept forward, dispersing the poisonous mist in front of him.
The poisoned Konoha shinobi immediately began glowing green.
Katsuyu, the immortal slug, took the opportunity to start healing them.
"Katsuyu, can you neutralize this poison?" Simu asked.
Katsuyu's soft voice echoed in his ear.
"It should be possible. Lady Tsunade and I encountered this poison during the Second Great Ninja War. It hasn't changed much over the years, but it will take a little time to treat."
Simu nodded. As long as it could be cured, there was no problem.
"Is that the little girl's summoned beast?"
Hanzo instantly recognized Katsuyu.
After all, Tsunade had left quite the impression on him.
"Boy, die!"
Hanzo vanished from atop the salamander in an instant, reappearing before Simu in the blink of an eye.
Before Simu could react, Hanzo's blade was already slashing toward his chest like a bolt of lightning.
"As expected of a demigod... that speed is insane."
Hanzo's title as a demigod wasn't just due to his poison—his terrifying Body Flicker Technique made him all the more dangerous.
A dark red gleam lit up in Simu's eyes.
His Conqueror's Haki erupted in an instant.
Though Hanzo wasn't stunned by the Haki, the sheer pressure caused his body to hesitate for a brief moment.
That was all Simu needed.
Dark red lightning surged along the mace.
He swung it with all his strength.
"Thunder Eight Trigrams!"
Hanzo's pupils shrank.
The scythe in his hand instinctively came down to block.
But he was just a beat too slow.
The surging Haki turned into a devastating shockwave.
Even Hanzo couldn't withstand the impact.
The powerful force blasted him dozens of meters away.
Simu's eyes gleamed.
Sure enough—a white beam of light shot down from the sky.
"Tch. Annoying."
Simu quickly used Soru to dodge the attack.
His figure flickered and reappeared elsewhere—then used Soru again.
But Onoki, seasoned from countless battles, had already anticipated Simu would attempt close-quarters combat.
He flew upward ahead of time, forming a white cube in his hand.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
The cube rapidly expanded in size.
A destructive aura bore down on Simu.
"What a troublesome ability."
Simu stomped in the air, changed direction mid-air, and charged straight at Hanzo below.
Hanzo's hand trembled slightly after the last hit.
That terrifying power...
His eyes were complicated.
Simu's ferocity reminded him of his own younger self.
But there was no time for nostalgia on the battlefield.
A massive mace fell from the sky.
Hanzo stabbed his scythe into the ground and formed hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Water surged from the ground, forming a roaring dragon that charged toward Simu.
He didn't dodge.
He smashed it apart with a single swing!
Countless water droplets splashed out, turning into a brief rain.
Amid the swirling droplets, a chain flew out and wrapped around the end of Simu's mace.
A powerful force tugged on it.
Hanzo stomped down, using the chain's pull to instantly propel himself into close range.
Simu punched without hesitation.
But unexpectedly, Hanzo yanked the chain midair, changing direction and narrowly dodging the blow.
He then activated Body Flicker once more.
The chakra-enhanced scythe gleamed menacingly.
Simu dodged to the side with the help of his Observation Haki.
The shining white blade scraped against his scaled arm, creating a burst of sparks before piercing into his shoulder.
Hot blood splashed.
This was the second time Simu had been injured since acquiring the Blue Dragon Fruit.
Why didn't he turn into lightning to avoid the blade?
Simu smirked slightly.
The dark red Conqueror's Haki surged across his forehead as he struck Hanzo with full force.
A raging shockwave rippled through the air.
Hanzo flew like a cannonball, crashing through countless boulders.
"The new era has no place for relics like you!"
Simu's golden eyes gleamed with overwhelming Haki.
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