Incomparably abundant energy surged through his body.
The once lush and dense forest was reduced to smoke and ashes in an instant.
The massive trees were sliced cleanly along golden lines, leaving only plumes of dust trailing from the fractures before crashing to the ground.
Even with the terrifying regenerative power of Wood Style, the forest couldn't recover anytime soon.
The rescued Konoha ninjas hadn't even processed what had happened. They stood frozen in place, stunned.
It wasn't until Simu finally spoke that they snapped back to reality.
"What are you all standing around for? Get out of here—now!"
Only then did the shinobi awaken from their daze.
They exploded into motion, dashing toward the edge of the woods at full speed, shouting their thanks to Simu as they ran.
Simu stuffed his hands back into his pockets and calmly surveyed the shattered remnants of the forest.
From within the wreckage of the thick wooden piles, an old man slowly emerged.
Danzo.
His skin hung loose and lifeless, his body emaciated and shriveled—one foot already in the grave.
Though he had used Izanagi to avoid the full backlash of the Wood Style technique, the overuse of this forbidden ocular jutsu had inflicted irreversible damage.
The aged and dying Danzo fixed his dull eyes on the ominous black markings spreading across Simu's face.
In a raspy, bitter voice, he muttered:
"If… if I had power like yours… maybe everything would have turned out differently…"
And with that, the final Sharingan embedded in his right arm closed shut.
The Hashirama cells within him ran completely out of control.
From beneath his skin, countless sharp and gnarled branches sprouted violently, all surging toward Simu in a last-ditch frenzy.
Simu didn't even flinch. His hands remained buried in his pockets.
Behind him, space rippled.
A portal of radiant energy opened.
From within, countless weapons made of pure golden light surged forth.
"Immortal Art: King's Treasure!"
He invoked the awakened ability once more.
The weapons exploded outward like a divine barrage, transforming into radiant flashes that obliterated the incoming branches effortlessly.
The clash ended as decisively as it began—Simu's victory was absolute.
Just when everyone believed it was over, the ground beneath Simu's feet suddenly cracked open.
Danzo's fully lignified arm had latched onto Simu's ankle like a dying predator.
A beast-like snarl twisted Danzo's face.
With his remaining hand, he ripped open his chest, revealing five sealing formulas etched deeply into his flesh.
"Hanyu Simu... No matter what... I'll drag you to hell with me!!"
Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique!
At that moment, all of Danzo's hate, darkness, and obsession exploded outward.
His blood turned pitch-black and spewed from his mouth like ink.
The sealing curse marks extended outward, etching themselves onto the air, forming a spherical dome meant to trap them both.
But...
Simu only leaned forward slightly and said with calm amusement:
"Did you misunderstand how your technique works?"
Simu had studied this forbidden jutsu in detail.
After all, just yesterday, Aburame Ryoma had attempted to use the exact same technique to sacrifice himself to kill Simu.
Though the sealing ability was undeniably powerful, its flaw was equally obvious—
It took too long to activate.
In the original timeline, Danzo couldn't even seal Sasuke with it.
Let alone him—Hanyu Simu—who now stood far beyond such a level.
Simu lifted his arm, conjuring the Tiancongyun Sword once more.
This time, it was shrouded in Conqueror's Haki, radiating a monstrous aura.
The once holy golden blade now pulsed with a fearsome, ominous crimson light.
Under Danzo's disbelieving gaze—
The cursed blade descended and severed his wooden arm cleanly.
Danzo's face twisted in despair.
As his blood poured out like a torrent, his skin turned as pale as death.
"Im... impossible... This was my reinforced arm…"
Even in his final breath, he refused to accept defeat.
Simu smiled faintly.
"Elder Danzo, you can die in peace."
Without another word, Xuan Zui turned into a flash of light and disappeared just before the seal was fully completed.
The black blood, filled with the power of the seal, completely filled a sphere more than ten meters in diameter.
Everything inside would be sealed into the inner space and could no longer appear in this world.
Unfortunately, this technique, which Danzo had spent his life perfecting, ended up trapping nothing but a pile of stones.
It left a neat, large pit in the ground.
"It's all over."
Simu turned around, spun his cup, and headed home.
Two figures hurried over.
Simu raised his eyebrows, not too surprised.
After all, such a big event in the village, it was normal for them to come.
As Simu turned, the two figures appeared almost simultaneously.
One was Jiraiya, wearing a red vest and ninja attire.
The other was Tsunade, wearing a green coat with a large gambling character (賭) on her back.
The former had been dispatched to deal with the Revolutionary Army incident, while the latter was stationed at the border.
"Ms. Jiraiya, Tsunade."
Simu scratched his head and greeted them.
Looking at the messy battlefield, especially the huge wooden stakes scattered on the ground, Tsunade's expression grew stern.
"This is..."
Simu replied, "Danzo's hometown used a pirated version of the Wood Style technique developed by the previous generation of masters."
Tsunade was furious when she heard this.
"As expected, that old man Danzo still doesn't give up. This time, I won't let Sarutobi-sensei forgive him so easily!"
Seeing everyone hesitate to speak, Tsunade asked suspiciously, "What's wrong?"
Simu drew his palm out and pointed to the perfectly round pit in front of them.
"Danzo blew himself up."
"Self-explosion?"
Both Jiraiya and Tsunade were taken aback.
After all, Danzo's status in Konoha was extremely high.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that he was a man under one and above ten thousand.
Not only an advisor and elder, but also the root — an organization rivaling the Anbu.
If a character like him died, it would have a huge impact on Konoha.
Simu nodded and said casually, "Well, Elder Danzo leaked information about Konoha's troops to the Rock and Sand shinobi forces, and teamed up with Hanzo to besiege me, trying to trap me on the battlefield of the Land of Rain."
A disdainful smile flashed across Simu's face.
"Unfortunately for them, they weren't strong enough. Not only did I defeat them, but I also captured Hanzo alive."
Hearing this, Jiraiya and Tsunade were shocked.
But Simu didn't pay attention to their expressions and continued.
"Later, Yamanaka found evidence of collusion between Danzo and Hanzo by investigating Hanzo's memories. Elder Danzo then defected with the help of Genji."
"You don't know, Elder Danzo is truly terrifying."
"He actually has the First Hokage's Wood Style and a Sharingan that covers his whole arm."
Endless fear flashed across Simu's face.
He patted his chest and made a gesture with his thumb and forefinger, as if breaking a stick.
"Just a little bit — just a little bit away from never seeing you again."
This comment left the ninjas behind Simu speechless.
What do you mean you were almost killed?
He almost got seriously hurt!
Especially the Uchiha Quartet.
As patriarch of the Uchiha clan, he surely knows how powerful the ultimate pupil technique of the Yamanaka Branch is.
But even such a powerful pupil technique was just an escape tactic in front of Simu.
If it weren't for the seven Sharingan, Danzo would have died countless times.
Jiraiya and Tsunade were no longer calm.
After confirming the news was true, they could no longer hide their inner turmoil.
Others might not know, but the two Sannin were very clear about Hanzo's strength.
After all, their names were bestowed by that man himself.
Although Hanzo was old, how weak could a man crowned as a demigod be?
What's more, Simu didn't just fight Hanzo alone; he faced tens of thousands of ninja troops and received assistance from the Tsuchikage's forces.
And the result? In such a deadly situation, Simu killed the opponent without leaving a scratch, then fled in a hurry.
He even captured Hanzo alive.
But...
Jiraiya suddenly grabbed Simu's wrist.
"Where's Orochimaru? How is Orochimaru?"
Simu gritted his teeth as he felt the force on his wrist.
Jiraiya quickly let go, but the anxious expression on her face didn't change.
After hearing about Orochimaru, she was completely conflicted.
On one hand, she didn't want her partner to die.
On the other, she didn't want him to completely go rogue.
Simu rarely smiled, but now said with a serious expression:
"He's dead."
"Dead? Dead?"
Jiraiya stepped back, bewildered, raising her hands in disbelief.
Tsunade beside her also looked at Simu in shock.
"Could it be that he was...?"
"Yes, I killed Orochimaru."
Simu said this calmly.
Jiraiya clenched her fists suddenly.
She lowered her head, hiding her face in shadow, saying nothing.
"Why did you kill Orochimaru?"
As a woman, Tsunade was more emotional.
She grabbed Simu's collar with both hands.
The ninjas behind were about to step forward, but Simu raised his hand to stop them.
A broad hand rested on Tsunade's wrist.
"Tsunade, don't be impulsive. Simu did the right thing."
Jiraiya finally looked up.
Sunlight fell on his eye sockets, reflecting crystal light.
"Orochimaru is Konoha's rebellious ninja. He even killed his own partner. He deserved to die."
"Jiraiya..."
Tsunade let go of Simu's collar and looked at Jiraiya worriedly.
Jiraiya smiled slightly at Simu and gently patted his shoulder.
"Since that's settled, let's go back to Konoha and see Sarutobi-sensei."
"Yes."
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