Although Simu had left to chase the Third Kazekage,
the remaining hundreds of Cloud Shinobi didn't dare to continue attacking the Konoha forces.
Not to mention, these Konoha Shinobi had already begun to recover their combat effectiveness under Katsuyu's treatment.
What if Hanyu Simu—that god of death—suddenly turned back for a surprise attack?
Simu's overwhelming performance had completely shattered their psychological defenses.
In the coming days, they would probably dream of his massacre every time they closed their eyes.
Cold-blooded, effortless, and terrifying.
In those four hours, the surviving Cloud Shinobi had managed to retreat back to their forward base—
Mount Kikyo, located on the border between the Land of Thunder and the Land of Fire.
There, the Fourth Raikage, A, stood with his forces, waiting for word.
Beside him was a young man with round sunglasses and a scarf wrapped around his neck.
After waiting for so long with no sign of their teacher Tutai,
Killer Bee finally couldn't hold back and muttered:
"Mynah, a**l Noah!"
"Teacher Tutai's making us wait like this… he better not expect to walk away easy!"
As he spoke, he made a little freestyle rap gesture, tossing up a "one-three-seven" sign with his fingers.
But A's eyes stayed locked beyond the trees, watching as scattered Cloud Shinobi came scrambling back.
Killer Bee lit up.
"Bagayaro! They're finally back!"
But A's expression turned stone-cold.
"Don't celebrate yet… something's not right."
The returning Shinobi didn't look like victorious soldiers.
These were elite troops, dispatched deep into enemy territory—they should've been disciplined, tight, and organized.
But this?
This wasn't a return.
This was a retreat.
Sure enough…
The moment the Shinobi saw Raikage A, they finally let out the breath they were holding.
Some burst into tears.
Others collapsed right where they stood.
A grabbed one of them and demanded:
"What happened?!"
"Lord Raikage!" the Cloud Shinobi stammered, panicked,
"It's gone! Everything's gone!"
"What's gone?!"
Thunder rumbled in A's eyes.
"Lord Tutai is gone… and so are the others!
In an instant, they all disappeared!"
It was like a thunderclap in A's mind.
"What did you just say?! What happened to Teacher Tutai?!"
"He… he was killed by Hanyu Simu!!"
The moment the name left the Shinobi's mouth, his face turned pale with fear.
He was completely terrified, his spirit broken.
A's face darkened with fury as he tossed the Shinobi aside.
"Hanyu Simu…!"
He growled through clenched teeth.
That absurd-looking bastard from the other night suddenly flashed through his mind.
Thunder and lightning erupted across A's entire body.
Killer Bee immediately picked up on his brother's killing intent and rushed to stop him.
"Yo, bro—calm down, man! Now's not the time to charge into Konoha on a rampage!"
"Intel says Orochimaru's reinforcements are already on the way!"
Raikage A clenched his fists. Lightning crackled violently around them.
"I know."
He might be impulsive—but he wasn't a fool.
If he rushed in for revenge now, and got surrounded by Konoha's army,
not even his speed could guarantee escape.
Especially not with Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, arriving soon.
Just as he said that—
A blinding light exploded in the sky in the far distance.
Even from tens of thousands of meters away, they could still feel the heat and intensity.
The earth itself shook beneath their feet.
"Light Style Ninjutsu… that damned bastard again…"
A gritted his teeth. The blazing light reflected off his wild hair.
Killer Bee stared at the mushroom cloud erupting in the distance.
Dumbfounded, he asked the Eight-Tails inside him:
"Yo, Hachibi… among all the tailed beasts, is there anyone who can use Light Release?"
Eight-Tails observed the technique through Killer Bee's senses, and its voice grew solemn.
"No…
Even a Tailed Beast Bomb couldn't unleash power like that."
"Wait, even you can't do it?" Killer Bee asked in disbelief.
Eight-Tails shook its head.
"It's hard to say…"
Then added silently in its heart:
Maybe that bastard Nine-Tails could do it…
But hell if I'll admit it out loud.
Meanwhile, on the Konoha side—
The reinforcements led by Orochimaru had just arrived at the battlefield.
What they saw stunned them into silence.
The barren land stretched for miles.
The terrain over a radius of several thousand meters had sunk lower than the surrounding ground—
as if something had vaporized an entire portion of the world.
In the center of the battlefield was a massive crater—deep and wide like an abyss.
"What the hell happened here…?"
Everyone in the Konoha reinforcements had the same question written all over their faces.
When they saw their fellow Konoha Shinobi safe and unharmed, they were even more confused.
Weren't we sent here for backup?
Where's the enemy?
"What exactly happened?"
Orochimaru narrowed his golden pupils and asked one of the nearby Konoha Shinobi.
The ninja was clearly flustered, but still replied:
"It was Lord Simu who saved us."
"Simu? Lord?"
A flicker of confusion crossed Orochimaru's face.
"Yes," the ninja nodded quickly, "we were surrounded by enemy forces from the Land of Thunder and the Land of Wind."
"It was Lord Simu who suddenly appeared, rescued us, and annihilated thousands of enemy troops!"
"He personally beheaded a Cloud veteran and then led his squad to the Jōnin's command platform! After that, he even chased after the Third Kazekage!"
"And then… things turned into this mess."
Orochimaru's usually cold expression cracked into one of utter disbelief.
What the hell…?
His eyes drifted to the Katsuyu Sage not far away.
He remembered that kid had signed a contract with the Shikkotsu Forest.
So… it really was him who caused all of this chaos?
And Orochimaru wasn't the only one who didn't believe it.
All the other ninjas who had just arrived wore the same stunned expression.
Traveling deep into enemy territory…
Then summoning a massive healing slug to restore all the wounded Konoha Shinobi…
Then—single-handedly charging into an army of thousands…
Slaughtering a renowned Cloud veteran, Tiantai, with his own hands…
That guy was one of the top ten strongest in Cloud Village—
a close right-hand man of the Third Raikage!
And this was all done in front of thousands of enemy shinobi… and the strongest Kazekage?
And it still didn't stop there.
After wiping them out, Simu chased the fleeing Third Kazekage—
and somehow triggered an explosion that looked like a damn natural disaster.
What is this guy made of?
Does he not get tired?
Unlimited chakra?
Katsuyu Sage noticed Orochimaru's gaze and couldn't help but reveal a faint trace of displeasure.
With its calm and gentle personality, it never liked schemers like Orochimaru.
But Mr. Simu… now that one is something special.
Back when Simu first shared his idea for this technique, even Katsuyu had been shocked.
Not even Hashirama Senju had ever surprised it this much.
To think… natural energy could be used like that?
If Hashirama had mastered natural energy to its limits…
Then Simu was playing with it.
Just then, a breeze blew across the field, and the dust began to settle.
Finally, a figure slowly walked out from the smoke.
The coat of justice he wore was singed at the edges, flapping gently in the wind.
Simu scratched his head with one hand, a white hat in the other.
His eyes lit up when he saw Orochimaru and he said with a bit of a pout:
"Orochimaru, you came just in time."
"The Third Kazekage was too reckless—there's not even a corpse left."
"All I got was this stupid hat."
He casually handed over a Kazekage hat with the kanji for 'Wind' on it.
Then said hesitantly:
"Well, I mean, he was a Kazekage…
That should still fetch a decent bounty from the old man at the bounty office, right?"
Orochimaru stared at the genuine Kazekage hat.
The memory of that massive, ridiculous explosion still fresh in his mind…
His pale hand trembled slightly as he reached out to take it.
He didn't doubt what Simu had said.
There was simply no reason to lie about something like this.
If the Third Kazekage was alive, it would be obvious soon enough.
And if he didn't show up again…
Then this Kazekage hat was all the proof anyone needed.
This kid…
Orochimaru's cold eyes burned with hunger—like he wanted to devour Simu alive on the spot.
Simu felt goosebumps crawl across his skin.
Thank god for Katsuyu Sage, always so chill.
Uchiha Mikoto and Hyuga Rei were released from the barrier the moment Simu returned.
They looked around blankly for a moment…
Then immediately locked eyes on Simu.
"Mr. Simu!!"
Before Simu could even react, two soft bodies threw themselves into his arms.
He grinned.
Not gonna lie… this feels pretty damn good.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
There are 120+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Check out my new Marvel fanfic!
[Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers]