Ta Yuliang cursed in his heart upon hearing that sentence.
"Why can't you lovebirds just continue flirting? Why drag me into this?"
And what the hell did Hanyu Simu grow up eating?
Just a year out of the ninja academy, and he's already capable of taking on multiple Jōnin at once?
Tayura had been guarding Kushina for a long time.
Although Simu had previously displayed extraordinary strength, judging from his daily performance, he should have been no more than an ordinary Jōnin once exhausted.
But now...
Tayura had no time to think further.
The moment he heard Rei speak, he immediately formed a hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
A puff of smoke burst out, and five identical Tayuras dashed in different directions.
Two of them turned around quickly and made hand seals targeting Simu.
"Earth Style: Array of Soil Pillars!"
"Earth Style: Rock Seal!"
The ground trembled violently, as if struck by an earthquake. Several massive stone pillars shot up, surrounding Simu and Rei.
Another clone thrust its hands into the ground and kicked hard.
With the infusion of chakra, the entire ground shattered as a boulder the size of a small hill was launched high into the air before plummeting toward the enclosed Simu and Rei.
It was about to crash down upon them.
"What a terrifying ninjutsu," Simu sighed, pretending to be impressed.
Then, he hugged Rei tightly.
"Unfortunately, I don't have time to play with you anymore."
His feet shone with blinding golden light as he transformed into a flash of light, dashing toward the descending boulder.
With a single powerful kick—
CRACK!
A dense network of cracks spread from the point of impact, covering the entire rock like a spiderweb.
BOOM!
The colossal boulder shattered into countless fragments. Dust and smoke billowed as the debris crashed into the ground, shaking it violently.
Still holding Rei in his arms, Simu stepped lightly on the falling debris, using it as footholds midair.
Like a streak of golden lightning, he blitzed through the battlefield, obliterating the clones one by one.
Each time he kicked, a clone shattered.
Until the last one.
"Can you outrun light?"
A look of despair flashed across Tayura's face.
He had betrayed Konoha, taken Kushina, and anticipated the rewards the Land of Thunder had promised.
He thought he would be free—living without worry.
But now, he had encountered a monster.
Simu didn't care about Tayura's thoughts.
He drove his foot into Tayura's waist.
BOOM!
Tayura was sent crashing into the ground, leaving a crater three to four meters deep!
Meanwhile, Minato—who had been the first to notice Simu's actions—finally arrived.
But the battle he had imagined was nothing like the scene before him.
The entire area was in ruins.
And the only ones lying on the ground…
Were all Cloud Shinobi wearing headbands with the cloud insignia.
Minato gasped.
"One person… took down an entire Cloud Shinobi squad?"
Outrageous.
But as the dust settled, the faintly visible word "justice" on Simu's coat made everything seem… normal.
"Of course, it's Simu."
Despite being carefree, lazy, and unreliable most of the time…
At critical moments, he never failed to deliver.
Seeing Minato standing there, dumbfounded, Simu frowned and spoke in dissatisfaction:
"Minato, you're a little slow."
But then again, he couldn't really blame him.
After all, this was happening more than a year earlier than the original timeline.
Minato wasn't fully developed yet—Simu hadn't expected him to be.
In a flash, Simu appeared before Minato and draped his Justice Coat over the injured Rei.
"Take care of Rei for me. I'm going after Kushina."
Minato nodded without hesitation.
"Don't worry, I can handle this much."
He knew he wasn't as fast as Simu.
Even though Minato himself was renowned for his speed.
"Mr. Simu… please be careful." Rei's voice was soft, filled with concern.
"Don't worry."
For the first time in what felt like forever, the usually emotionless Simu managed to squeeze out a smile.
Then, without another word, he turned toward Kushina's direction—
And in the next instant, he vanished into a streak of golden light, flashing through the forest.
It was no exaggeration to say—
He was as fast as lightning.
Border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Thunder
The atmosphere was tense as the two nations faced off.
On Konoha's side, the Akamichi Clan Head was currently leading the border troops.
A former member of the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's Shadow Guard.
A close comrade of Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Akamichi Takeshige.
He was Hiruzen's most trusted ally—a confidant among confidants.
Because of his calm personality and immense strength, he had been entrusted with commanding the border forces between the Land of Fire and the Land of Thunder.
He was known as the Iron Wall Commander.
Because under his watch, Konoha's defense was as impenetrable as an iron wall.
"Lord Takeshige, our forces still haven't found any traces of the Cloud Shinobi squad."
While Konoha had dispatched units to pursue them, their border troops were assisting to the best of their abilities.
But with a large Cloud Shinobi army facing them, they couldn't divert too many resources.
At the same time, the Cloud Shinobi Army was also restless.
Standing atop a hill, the future Fourth Raikage, A, glared impatiently toward Konoha's borders.
His dark skin was the result of the Land of Thunder's harsh geography—
The higher the altitude, the more intense the UV radiation.
But the most defining trait of Cloud Shinobi was their sheer brute strength.
And in A, that power was showcased to an extreme.
His body was sculpted with layers of compact muscle—like an indestructible mountain of flesh.
Even without moving, he exuded a powerful sense of oppression.
The battle was far from over.
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