"This kid… could he finally be dead?"
White Zetsu stood atop the shell of the Three Tails, looking smugly at the massive black shadow that had just crashed into the distance.
Even with Hanyu Simu's terrifying body, it was hard to believe he could survive a direct hit from a Tailed Beast Bomb unscathed.
"Master Simu…"
Steam hissed off the Five Tails' body, its expression grim.
Even the Four Tails looked visibly shaken.
If not for Simu's overwhelming strength, it might have lost control by now.
After all, the Four Tails had no understanding of a Sharingan powerful enough to subdue the Two Tails in a single glance.
What if it gets sealed again?
Sensing the Four Tails' hesitation, the Five Tails warned coldly:
"You don't really think Master Simu would die from a single Tailed Beast Bomb, do you?"
The Four Tails' expression shifted, but thinking back on Simu's monstrous power, it just snorted:
"Whatever. I'll deal with Matatabi. I don't care whether that kid lives or dies."
With that, it charged toward the Two Tails.
Meanwhile, Minato had just arrived on the battlefield.
The once-lush forest had been completely annihilated.
The ground looked like it had been ripped apart by countless enormous blades, etched with deep, jagged scars.
Mist Shinobi lay sprawled across the landscape—dozens, maybe hundreds.
Each bore grotesque slashing wounds.
The stench of blood and death filled the air.
But Minato, a battle-hardened shinobi, wasn't fazed.
At most, he felt a moment of discomfort—but not disgust.
"This Sage Art technique... it's terrifying."
He looked at a gaping ravine tens of meters long near his feet.
A dozen Mist Shinobi corpses lay in just that one trench—and there were countless others like it across the battlefield.
A rough estimate showed that over a thousand Mist ninjas had died from Simu's technique alone.
"But the most important thing now is to find Simu."
Clutching his three-pronged kunai, Minato quickly locked onto Simu's chakra signature.
Because of the Tailed Beast Bomb, Simu had landed some distance from the center of the battlefield.
Unfortunately, Minato was running low on chakra—otherwise, he'd use Flying Thunder God to reach him instantly.
As he considered his options, a hand suddenly shot up from beneath his feet.
Instinctively, Minato activated Flying Thunder God.
In a blink, he reappeared over ten meters away—at a rock where he'd previously marked his seal.
Just as he vanished, a massive blade erupted from the ground, slashing through the space he'd just occupied.
"Looks like there are still some enemies left."
Minato wasn't surprised.
Simu's area-of-effect technique had a wide range, but its sheer size diluted its power. It wouldn't be enough to kill elite shinobi outright.
Most ordinary Jonin wouldn't survive.
But powerful ones—like the Mizukage or the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—would have their own methods for surviving.
"Konoha's Yellow Flash..."
Loquat Juzo emerged from a pool of water, his beheading sword in hand.
But the blade was damaged—numerous cracks lined its edge, and half of it was broken.
Juzo stared at his weapon, heart pounding.
If it hadn't been for this blade, he probably wouldn't have survived that last attack.
He licked his lips as he turned toward Minato.
"That brat destroyed my sword. I'll use you to fix it!"
A cruel grin stretched across his face.
This wasn't just any blade—it was a sword that could regenerate by absorbing iron from the blood of its victims.
The more it killed, the sharper and tougher it became.
Minato remained calm.
"So, you're Loquat Juzo of the Seven Swordsmen. Quite the opponent."
But there wasn't the slightest hint of fear on his face.
After all, Minato was a man worthy of the Hokage title.
Under normal conditions, defeating Loquat Juzo wouldn't be hard.
The problem now was… he was nearly out of chakra.
Without warning, Juzo charged.
He swung his half-broken blade with savage power, slashing wildly.
Minato dodged and blocked with his kunai, looking for the perfect opening.
He had to make every bit of chakra count—it could only be used for the finishing blow.
Sparks flew as their weapons clashed again and again, illuminating their faces in flickers of orange and white.
But in terms of pure taijutsu, Minato was at a slight disadvantage.
The relentless assault wore him down.
Eventually, the beheading sword slammed into his kunai with enough force to snap it in half.
Juzo smirked and stepped down on the broken blade's remains, launching Minato backward with a brutal kick.
A red gleam flickered in Juzo's eyes.
He glanced at the corpses of his fellow Mist shinobi littering the battlefield.
Rage twisted his face.
"Konoha scum… I'll kill every last one of you!"
Just as he was about to use the Body Flicker Technique to finish off the legendary Yellow Flash—
A voice suddenly rang out.
"You've exposed your weakness."
Minato's figure silently appeared behind Jūzō Biwa.
It turned out that during the earlier battle, Minato had already marked a Flying Thunder God seal behind Jūzō with the paper tag in his hand.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice the opening you left?"
As a renowned ninja of Kirigakure, Jūzō had long since noticed Minato's teleportation technique.
He swung his massive executioner's blade, turning around at a speed no human should possess, bringing the weapon crashing down hard.
That kind of force was something Minato—who wasn't specialized in taijutsu—would normally struggle to withstand.
But in the very next moment, Minato vanished again.
A flash of shock crossed Jūzō's face.
This time, Minato appeared above the blade.
The greatsword split the ground in two with its swing, while Minato landed gracefully atop its flat surface.
His blond hair fluttered in the misty battlefield.
The three-pronged kunai in his hand flashed like a bolt of light—piercing directly between Jūzō's brows.
"Flying Thunder God—Second Step!"
Bright red blood burst out from behind Jūzō's skull.
The head of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Jūzō Biwa, fell in battle.
His body hit the ground with a dull thud.
Just as Minato let out a breath of relief—
A surge of water burst from the cracked stones beneath his feet, encasing him inside a rapidly expanding sphere of liquid.
"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
A figure emerged from the thick mist—Ao, the elite tracker of Kirigakure.
His young face was stained with soot and dust, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Clearly, the earlier shockwave from Simu had taken a toll on him as well.
The water sphere frantically absorbed the remaining chakra from Minato's body.
He was now unable to even trigger the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Go to hell."
Simu's brutal rampage had driven Ao past the edge of hatred.
Minato, being a Konoha shinobi, was next on his list for vengeance.
"Feel the pain of loss."
The water sphere began to compress inward violently.
Feeling the intense pressure closing in, Minato gave a helpless smile.
"Simu... you must make it out of here alive..."
His lips moved, but no words came out—only a stream of bubbles.
"Huh? What the hell are you mumbling about?"
Just as Minato teetered on the edge of death, a familiar voice echoed through the battlefield.
Simu crashed down from the sky, smashing the water prison apart with a blow from the Eight-Fast Mace in his hand!
His massive palm easily caught the unconscious Minato with one hand.
Water droplets scattered in all directions.
Ao's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible! Even you couldn't have taken a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on!"
Among the falling mist, Simu's eyes glowed with a blinding light.
"Sorry to disappoint you... but my body is probably tougher than you imagined."
He rose slowly to his feet.
At over seven meters tall, his presence blocked out the very sky.
The direct impact of the Tailed Beast Bomb had scorched him terribly.
His skin was covered in horrific burns, steam still rising from the wounds.
Blood had begun to crust, making his expression even more terrifying.
The heavy stench of blood filled Ao's nostrils.
Simu raised the spiked mace again, his tone icy cold:
"If you really believed a Tailed Beast Bomb could kill me, abandon that delusion right now."
Thick, dark red lightning crackled violently across Simu's body and weapon.
A terrifying aura descended like a divine punishment, making even the Mizukage's elite shinobi tremble uncontrollably.
Ao knew—this monster was truly enraged.
Even in his most injured state, Simu's power, his aura, his sheer presence—was still untouchable!
The dark red lightning illuminated the sky like the end of days.
With a deafening crash, Simu swung the Eight-Fast Mace down.
Locked in his sights, Ao could only hurriedly form another hand seal.
"Water Style: Water Mirror Jutsu!"
Streams of water converged into a mirror-like surface.
From it, a doppelgänger of Simu emerged—matching his size and posture.
The Water Mirror Jutsu could replicate the enemy's form and mimic their abilities.
But facing a replica of himself—
Simu's eyes burned with murderous rage.
"Jundali: Raging Dragon Lord!"
His Conqueror's Haki surged violently, red lightning crashing down with his mace.
One hit!
Two hits!
Three hits!
Simu swung again and again.
The false Simu swung back.
Each impact sent thunderous shockwaves across the battlefield.
But under Simu's monstrous onslaught—
The copy created by Ao's Water Mirror Jutsu couldn't hold up.
After all, the technique only replicated physical form and chakra—it couldn't imitate Simu's Qi or Haki.
As the water mirror shattered—
Ao finally faced his fate.
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