During their journey to the village, Simu's team wasn't always on the move.
Jiraiya would take breaks each day to guide Minato and Kushina in their training.
For example, Kushina had learned [Strange Power] over the past few days, and her talent in this ability seemed quite impressive.
Jiraiya's eye twitched as he stared at the massive tree that had been split clean in half. At that moment, he couldn't help but see the shadow of a certain terrifying woman in Kushina.
Minato, standing nearby, smiled awkwardly and tried to smooth things over.
"Kushina, your [Strange Power] is really coming along nicely," he said.
Simu saw that Kushina was still a little upset, though she had landed on the ground again. Still, he remained ready to turn into light at any moment.
No way around it—whether it was because of the Nine Tails inside her or something else, Kushina's [Strange Power] was unbelievably strong. She didn't seem like a rookie at all.
Even solid rock would be shattered under her full-force punch.
After all, [Strange Power] was fundamentally different from regular ninjutsu.
Other ninjas had to spend a great deal of effort controlling their chakra, both to increase their attacks' power and to minimize chakra loss.
But Kushina had no such problem.
As an Uzumaki, she already possessed a monstrous amount of chakra, and with the Nine Tails sealed within her, she didn't need to regulate it at all.
She could simply unleash it freely.
In the end, the secret behind [Strange Power] was simple—massive chakra reserves.
Unlike Kushina, Minato focused on refining his chakra control.
From time to time, he could be seen flipping his open palm, carefully manipulating the chakra swirling within.
This was directly related to his own physique.
Compared to Kushina, Minato didn't have an overwhelming amount of chakra.
So, in order to maximize his combat ability, he had to start by perfecting his chakra control.
And then there was Simu.
You couldn't really tell what kind of training he was doing.
He spent most of his time sleeping.
When he wasn't sleeping, he was eating.
And when he wasn't eating, he was fishing by the river.
At one point, Jiraiya even wondered if they were on a mission or just out on a camping trip.
That being said, thanks to Simu, they didn't have to rely entirely on ration pills for food.
After a brief rest, they finally reached their destination in the middle of the night.
Simu glanced up at the sky.
In front of them was a cliff. The bandits' base was built directly into it.
A sharp, icy wind blew against their faces.
"It's freezing... In weather like this, wouldn't it be great to just stay home and have hotpot?" Simu muttered, pulling his jacket tighter and shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
Jiraiya took a deep breath.
"Stop talking nonsense and take these guys out quickly," he said.
"Also, I won't be helping this time," he added.
His tone was serious. These were just ordinary bandits—there were no ninjas among them.
For Minato, Kushina, and Simu, defeating them wasn't the problem.
The real challenge was psychological.
As rookies, this would be their first time taking a life.
And for a ninja, being able to kill when necessary was a crucial test.
"I got it," Simu replied casually.
And in the blink of an eye—
He was gone.
The ten-meter-high cliff might have been an insurmountable obstacle for ordinary people, but for ninjas, it was nothing.
Minato and Kushina followed closely behind.
Using chakra to adhere to the rock face, they climbed the cliffside as effortlessly as walking on flat ground.
"Five, six!"
"You lost! Drink up!"
A large group of bandits sat around a roaring bonfire, shaking dice in their hands and gambling noisily.
The strong stench of alcohol filled the entire camp.
Nearby, several children had thick ropes looped carelessly around their necks, tied to wooden stakes like livestock.
One of the men accidentally dropped his dice.
A chorus of jeers erupted from the surrounding bandits.
"Three drinks as punishment!"
"Just drink it! I'm heading to the bathroom first," the man grumbled.
The others laughed as he stood up, unfastened his pants, and stumbled toward the cliff's edge to relieve himself.
That was when he heard something moving below.
Frowning, he leaned over to take a look.
But before he could react—
A shadow burst out from the darkness beside him.
A flash of blond hair gleamed in the moonlight, and a kunai slit cleanly across the bandit's throat.
"Enem—"
He barely managed to utter half a word before his body collapsed lifelessly.
The sharp, metallic scent of blood filled the air.
Minato, who had never killed anyone before, turned slightly pale.
Although he had been careful to make his attack as swift and quiet as possible, the camp was too small.
The other bandits quickly sensed something was wrong.
"Who's there?!"
They shot up from their seats, grabbing their weapons in alarm.
Then they looked up—
And saw it.
A radiant golden light filled the night sky.
Simu hadn't cared much about these bandits before.
But the moment he saw those ragged children tied up like animals, something inside him shifted.
It was as if the sun itself had been born in the dead of night.
Countless brilliant light particles rained down like a storm from above.
Simu's voice rang out slowly.
"Tell me... have you ever seen the light?"
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