The sky above the battlefield was instantly lit up.
A dazzling golden light illuminated the faces of every ninja.
Countless glowing orbs descended from the sky, clashing against the iron sand wave unleashed by the Third Kazekage—just before it reached Akamichi Takekaze.
Light and iron sand collided like two surging tides of different colors.
They clashed fiercely—neither gaining the upper hand.
In the end, the iron sand collapsed, and the golden light faded.
Simu's figure landed right in front of Akamichi Takekaze.
"Oh? That was close—I nearly missed my cue."
Simu's Observation Haki instantly spread across the entire battlefield.
3465 Sand Shinobi.
1401 Cloud Shinobi.
Only 951 Konoha ninjas remained.
From an original force of 4000, after two waves of war, fewer than 1000 survived.
If he had arrived even a second later… even Rei might've been in danger.
Simu stood calmly in front of Takekaze, hands in his pockets, shielding him from the wrath of both Sand and Cloud Shinobi.
Seeing Simu appear, Akamichi Takekaze didn't look relieved—instead, he seemed anxious.
His Chakra reserves were completely depleted. He could no longer maintain his Expansion Jutsu, and had returned to normal size.
"Simu, you shouldn't be here," Takekaze said urgently.
"With your speed, you could escape the battlefield easily. I'll hold them off. Run while you still can!"
He knew Simu's terrifying talent—given time, he would no doubt become a powerhouse rivaling the Hokage.
But… it was still too early.
Even if he acknowledged Simu's strength, he didn't believe Simu could face Sarumon—the man known as the strongest Kazekage in history.
Takekaze tried to stand up, but between his severed leg and burn wounds—no doubt the work of the Cloud Shinobi commander—he couldn't move.
Simu gently pressed him back down.
A Katsuyu clone in his hand crawled over to Takekaze, beginning the healing process.
"Don't worry," Simu said, his voice calm. "Don't run. Leave this to me… I'll take you home."
He patted Takekaze's shoulder gently, then turned toward the Third Kazekage—Sarumon—and the Cloud Shinobi commander, Tutai.
"Tch… This won't be easy."
Simu narrowed his eyes.
Sarumon stood atop his iron sand cloud, gazing coldly over the battlefield.
His brows furrowed when he saw Simu blocking his attack.
On his cold and stern face, a hint of surprise appeared.
After all, as the spark that ignited this war, Simu's name was etched into the memory of every Sand Shinobi.
Sarumon spoke, voice icy.
"You're Hanyu Simu—the one who killed Elder Ebizō?"
Simu kept his hands in his pockets and replied casually.
"If you're talking about that old guy with the puppets—yeah, that was me."
Sarumon frowned, eyes narrowing.
Though he acknowledged Simu's strength, Ebizō had been a respected senior among the Sand Shinobi.
He couldn't stand anyone mocking him.
Tutai's eyes also locked on Simu.
This guy had been on Cloud Shinobi's kill list for a long time—and ranked in the top three.
They would gladly sacrifice ten elite Jōnin just to take him down.
Simu looked up at Sarumon.
"It's annoying talking to people while looking up… Why don't you come down here?"
Suddenly, Simu turned into a streak of golden light and shot toward Sarumon.
But Sarumon wasn't called the strongest Kazekage for nothing.
The moment Simu vanished, he manipulated the surrounding iron sand, constructing a massive wall of defense.
"Hah. As expected from the strongest Kazekage… that reaction time is ridiculous."
Simu's foot glowed with light. He kicked at the wall—at the speed of light.
Boom!
The sheer force nearly shattered the iron sand.
Sarumon, protected inside the barrier, was knocked toward the ground.
He spread his arms just before impact, and the iron sand swept in from both sides, cushioning him safely.
He wasn't hurt.
Simu wasn't surprised.
If he could kill a Kazekage with one kick, the world would be a joke.
But his goal had already been accomplished.
He tapped his foot in midair—Moonwalk—then drew a giant Summoning Circle in the sky.
Boom!
A massive explosion of smoke filled the air.
And then—a monstrous beast appeared in the center of the battlefield.
A Katsuyu… the size of a mountain.
Even Sarumon and Tutai's expressions changed.
"T-That's… Tsunade's Summoning Beast!"
"And… it's this huge?!"
Tutai's voice trembled with disbelief.
Summoning beasts grew in size depending on the Chakra used—and a beast of this scale required absurd amounts of Chakra.
Even if he drained all his Chakra, Tutai doubted he could summon something even half this size.
Summoning this giant Katsuyu had consumed nearly half of Simu's vast Chakra reserves.
But to protect the remaining Konoha shinobi, it was worth it.
Simu stood atop Katsuyu's head, finally towering over the battlefield.
He nodded in satisfaction.
"Katsuyu, help heal all the Konoha ninjas."
"Of course," Katsuyu replied gently.
Her colossal body began to shift, and dozens of small Katsuyus detached and quickly spread across the battlefield.
They leapt onto wounded Konoha ninjas, pouring healing Chakra into them.
As for Rei and Mikoto, Katsuyu swallowed them into her body for protection.
Even though the Katsuyu had halved in size due to Chakra loss—it was still a terrifying sight on the battlefield.
Akamichi Tekkaze looked at Simu worriedly as he was being treated by Katsuyu.
The more impressive Simu's performance was, the more uneasy he felt about his comrade.
"Arrogant brat… let's see if you have the strength to back up that arrogance."
Tutai quickly issued an order.
"Cloud Shinobi forces, prepare for attack formation!"
As his voice fell, thousands of Cloud Shinobi hurled their kunai in unison.
Each kunai was infused with crackling lightning, arcing through the dark sky like death's scythe, flashing with deadly intent.
"I'll leave that to you, Katsuyu."
"It's an honor to fight alongside you, Mr. Kizaru," Katsuyu replied.
This was the first time Katsuyu had fought side-by-side with Simu, and she was clearly looking forward to it.
As the storm of kunai entwined with lightning shot toward them, Simu showed no fear.
The massive Katsuyu opened her mouth.
"Mucous Acid Technique!"
A flood of yellow acidic fluid rained down from above.
The lightning-infused kunai were instantly corroded the moment they touched the acid.
The entire wave of attacks was effortlessly neutralized.
But the acid didn't stop there—it continued to fall into the forest below.
The Cloud Shinobi were thrown into chaos.
Many were splashed by the acid.
Screams echoed briefly before they were reduced to bare bones by the corrosive attack.
This was the terrifying power of one of the Three Legendary Beasts—Katsuyu the Great Slug.
Tutai turned to Sarumon and said:
"If you don't get serious, you might be killed by this kid."
Sarumon folded his arms and stood atop the floating black iron sand cloud. He slowly rose into the air and snorted coldly:
"You don't have to tell me that."
"Good," Tutai muttered grimly.
Below, the Cloud Shinobi launched another round of attacks at Simu.
This time, Simu didn't hold back.
Two brilliant beams of light formed in his hands and merged into a glowing streak that pierced the sky.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
A rain of terrifying light bullets poured down.
Panic flooded the faces of the Cloud Shinobi below.
"Don't panic! I'll block it!"
"Lava Style: Great Defense Dome!"
A surge of lava gushed from one shinobi's mouth, forming a massive molten dome above the Cloud Shinobi to shield them from the falling beams of light.
Simu calmly adjusted his glasses.
"This is getting a bit troublesome."
He clapped his hands together.
Suddenly, natural energy surged from the environment, rushing into his body.
Crimson markings spread across his face.
Sage Mode—Activated!
"That's… Sage Mode?" Tutai muttered in shock.
With Sage Mode activated, and Katsuyu under Simu's command…
A thought crossed Tutai's mind, and his face grew visibly grim.
Simu jumped off Katsuyu's head.
Golden light enveloped his fist as he punched the lava dome from above.
Crack…
The solid-looking dome instantly fractured, then shattered into rubble.
Chunks of molten rock rained down on the Cloud Shinobi.
And just as they looked up in horror…
"Immortal Technique: Light Ripple Pattern."
A single golden droplet floated down like water from the air.
It struck the center of the battlefield and unleashed a faint golden ripple—like a stone hitting a still pond—expanding outward from Simu's position.
Tutai's expression changed drastically.
"Everyone, move! Get out of the way!"
But his warning was too late.
The Cloud Shinobi were too close to Simu. They couldn't react in time.
The golden ripples spread across the field, silently passing through everything—Cloud Shinobi, trees, even solid stone.
The shinobi didn't even realize they'd been hit.
They kept charging forward for a few more steps—until their upper and lower bodies suddenly split apart.
Their torsos crashed to the ground, some even catching sight of their still-moving legs before consciousness slipped away.
That golden ripple was like a Shinigami's blade—harvesting lives with a single swing.
Not just humans—everything within its radius was sliced in half.
Trees. Boulders. Even time seemed momentarily frozen.
Tutai rushed to the frontlines.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Mountain!"
A massive chunk of earth rose up, forming a natural wall that split the battlefield in two.
The remaining Cloud Shinobi were forced back behind it.
The golden ripple collided with the earthen mountain, leaving behind a thin, glowing cut.
Then the entire structure… split.
Unfortunately, the ripple had exhausted its energy, and gradually dissipated into the air.
When the dust settled, there was nothing standing within 200 meters of Simu.
The battlefield around him had turned to complete emptiness.
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