Drobby's face turned ugly, as if he felt that Simu was mocking him.
What he didn't know was that Simu was simply stating the truth.
Whether it was the previous forum skirmish or just now—
He had faced far more enemies than just four. Much more.
"Arrogant bastard!"
Drobby growled.
The four puppets with bladed ribs charged forward.
Their arms opened, blades gleaming, as they lunged to embrace Simu.
"Taste the embrace of death!"
Simu adjusted his glasses lazily.
"So scary. What a pity—I'm not into men."
He glanced at the four puppets and added casually,
"And I like these four even less."
He raised a finger gently, and a dazzling laser shot from his fingertip.
It hit the charging puppets dead-on.
BOOM!
A series of explosions followed.
Violent flames instantly engulfed the puppets, reducing them to debris.
Simu was just about to turn into a flash and finish off Drobby—
When suddenly, he sensed something through Observation Haki.
He saw a figure in the ruins of the mansion—Minato.
"Almost died, huh, Minato?"
The next moment, Minato appeared beside him.
His hand rested weakly on Simu's coat of justice.
"I didn't expect you to use that backup technique so quickly."
Simu looked at him with a teasing grin.
Minato, pale and bloodied, gave a bitter smile.
"Looks like you're still full of energy. I'll leave that guy to you then."
He clutched his bleeding abdomen and nodded toward Ebizō, who was walking out of the ruins alongside Tianmu Hazang.
At this moment, Simu had no idea who Tianmu Hazang really was.
But even if he did, he probably wouldn't care.
"Hanyu Simu," Ebizō said coldly.
Simu scratched his cheek with a finger, looking amused.
"Didn't expect someone to recognize me on sight. Could it be my name as 'Konoha's Kizaru' has spread across the ninja world?"
Ebizō didn't get angry. Instead, he spoke calmly:
"Kizaru of Konoha. Golden Flash.
The only Light Release user in the ninja world.
The winner of the first Joint Jōnin Exam in ninja history."
"With so many titles, even an old man like me can't forget you."
As Sunagakure's long-time advisor, Ebizō had seen countless young talents.
He could clearly recall their abilities and traits.
"If I remember right, you were the one who defeated Ye Cang, weren't you?"
Simu rubbed his head, pretending to think.
"I vaguely remember… a woman named Ye Cang? Might've beaten her."
He chuckled awkwardly.
"Sorry, I've defeated too many people—I can't keep track."
Minato sighed with a black line across his face.
Seeing Simu act so casually, he couldn't help but remind him:
"That man is one of Sunagakure's advisors.
He's a veteran ninja who made his name in the First Great Ninja War.
Don't underestimate him."
Hearing that, Simu finally pieced things together.
"Ebizō, huh?"
Honestly, he didn't recognize the younger version of Ebizō.
"I didn't expect a young guy like you to know this old man's name," Ebizō replied calmly.
He slowly raised his hand.
"Ready yourselves, young ones."
His palm dropped.
Four puppets stood before him, exuding terrifying chakra pressure.
Their heads snapped up and launched toward Simu from all directions.
"So scary. A true veteran from the First Ninja War."
Puppet No. 1's arm opened up like an umbrella.
Iron spokes spun like a chainsaw as it lunged.
"A chainsaw? That's terrifying."
Simu tapped his toes, glanced back, and retreated just as the attack missed.
Before he could react, Puppet No. 2 arrived.
Its mouth opened wide—at point-blank range.
Simu thought it would spit out kunai.
Instead, it unleashed a blazing orange fire dragon that roared toward him.
"You've modified them to this degree? Impressive."
Though these puppets retained some of the original ninja's abilities—
They still fell short of the masterpiece-level human puppets created by that guy, Sasori.
Sasori's human puppets could fully replicate the abilities, even Bloodline Limits, of their living counterparts.
As the fire dragon rushed him, Simu didn't flinch.
The red glow reflected in his eyes as he pulled one hand from his pocket and pinched the air.
A lightsaber formed in his grip, coated in Armament Haki.
He swung it down.
The fire dragon's head split in two.
The ferocious chakra beast shattered into flames and vanished.
"Huh? An ambush?"
Simu stepped to the side quickly.
From the fading flames, Puppet No. 3 emerged.
A scorpion tail extended from its belly and struck at Simu's lightsaber!
So the fire dragon was a feint—the real killing blow came here!
If not for Simu's powerful Observation Haki, he might've been skewered.
"Man… these puppet masters sure know how to play dirty."
He parried the deadly strike.
But before he could recover, Puppet No. 4 arrived from above.
It spread its arms, revealing mechanical wings.
Its abdomen opened—kunai rained down from the sky.
Each kunai had a burning explosive tag attached.
"Tsk..."
Simu couldn't help but praise the ingenuity.
Even more impressive—
The kunai exploded the moment they neared the ground,
leaving no time to dodge.
The massive explosions cratered the battlefield.
Still, Ebizō remained cautious.
Puppet No. 3 flapped its wings violently,
blowing away the smoke to spot Simu's position.
Puppet No. 1's mouth opened again, ready to follow up.
Sure enough, as Simu reappeared—
A fierce fire dragon blasted from its mouth toward him once more.
"Enough."
Simu swung his lightsaber again, slicing the dragon cleanly in half.
At that moment, he appeared right in front of Puppet No. 1.
A brilliant light surged from his calf—
Boom!
He kicked the puppet's abdomen at lightning speed.
But Ebizō had anticipated this.
Puppet No. 1 opened its arms in response, attempting to hug Simu as it was hit.
Dozens of fangs shot from its limbs, glowing with a sickly green light.
Poisoned, without a doubt.
But Simu didn't hesitate.
He kicked anyway.
The powerful impact instantly shattered Puppet No. 1 into pieces.
But even in its final moment, it had completed its mission.
Its shattered arms, lined with vicious fangs, fell at Simu's feet.
The puppet's bite force had exceeded Simu's expectations.
Even his Armament Haki wasn't enough to fully block it.
Though the wound was minor, the terrifying venom hidden in the fangs had already entered Simu's body.
Simu frowned.
He dodged and instantly appeared in front of Puppet No. 2.
With one heavy stomp, the entire puppet shattered into countless fragments.
"Ah… I see now."
A look of understanding appeared on Simu's face.
Start with a long-range Fire Style attack from Puppet No. 1...
Let Puppet No. 2 hide in the flames to approach unnoticed.
Make the enemy believe No. 1 is the ranged attacker...
And No. 2 the close-combat fighter…
Then bait the enemy into engaging Puppet No. 1 in close quarters,
And use a suicide attack to take the enemy down together.
Even with strong defensive ninjutsu, most wouldn't be able to withstand Puppet No. 1's ferocious bite.
Seeing Simu's expression, Ebizō smiled faintly.
"Seems you've figured it out—but a little too late."
He narrowed his eyes.
"That venom… was crafted by my sister herself. No one in the entire ninja world can cure it.
Unless Konoha's Tsunade is standing here in front of you—maybe then you'd have a chance."
Hearing that, Simu covered his mouth and let out a painful cough.
"Mr. Simu!"
Seeing him like that, Rei's heart ached.
She rushed forward to help—but then Katsuyu's voice echoed in her mind:
"Mr. Kizaru is fine."
Only then did she relax slightly.
Harukami Aso and Harukami Toika, father and daughter, also wanted to step in—
But they were too heavily injured to do anything.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Ebizō immediately manipulated Puppet No. 3 to dive from the sky.
A drill emerged from its head.
As the dive gathered momentum, the drill began spinning at high speed!
The surrounding air twisted into a small tornado as it slammed toward Simu.
Simu's hand slowly fell from his mouth.
He looked up calmly.
With a thunderous crash, Puppet No. 3 struck the ground, the force of its drill shaking the entire battlefield.
Smoke and debris filled the air—
But in the next instant, Simu appeared directly in front of Ebizō!
The fifty-year-old puppet master's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible… you were clearly poisoned—"
Simu gave a slight smile. "You mean this?"
He opened his palm, and droplets of emerald green venom flicked away with a casual motion.
His glowing lightsaber slashed out without warning!
Although Ebizō specialized in puppetry, his taijutsu wasn't weak.
The moment Simu attacked, he immediately retreated.
That was when Puppet No. 4, stationed at his side, moved.
It expanded rapidly, its thick wooden body standing like a shield between Ebizō and Simu.
Without hesitation, Simu slashed it down.
The glowing lightsaber cleaved through the wooden puppet like butter.
He kicked off the air—
Moonwalk!
His body accelerated a second time, zipping through the sawdust and reappearing before Ebizō.
Golden light gleamed on the old man's aging face.
But under that light, Ebizō suddenly smiled.
Simu's heart sank.
Observation Haki!
He swept his senses across the puppet fragments floating around him—and felt it.
Too late!
Ebizō clapped his hands together, forming a one-handed seal.
Countless seals etched into every puppet fragment lit up.
In the blink of an eye, they expanded and connected—forming a massive sealing formation!
"Three Talents Seal!"
Simu was instantly surrounded by the distorted kanji of Heaven, Earth, and Man.
This time, it wasn't just Rei who panicked.
Even Minato, who had always trusted Simu unconditionally—even when blinded—felt a flicker of dread.
But then, he calmed down again.
Because the Flying Thunder God seal he had left earlier wasn't pointing to that location.
Which meant—
The puppet fragments quickly reassembled, forming the same thick barrel-shaped puppet.
But now, its exterior was covered in chains and seals.
On top, a cold, glowing sigil pulsed quietly.
This… was Ebizō's hidden trump card.
Puppet No. 4 wasn't just a defensive guard.
Inside it was a fully pre-installed Three Talents Sealing Formation.
Once triggered, it could instantly activate and trap anything caught within the puppet's shattered remains!
"Impossible… Mr. Simu would never…"
Rei stared at the sealed barrel.
She struggled to her feet, fists clenched.
Chakra surged through her battered body, gathering at her fists.
Even if it meant dying—
She would break it open!
"…Next, let me take over."
Tenmu Hazang stepped forward, drawing his ninja blade.
Now that the battle seemed decided, Ebizō didn't stop him.
After all, the boy still needed a moment to shine.
Hazang formed a seal.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"
A massive air blast surged from his mouth, howling like a cannonball as it shot toward Rei!
But—
"Oi… did you forget I'm still here?"
Simu suddenly appeared in front of Rei, calmly raising a hand.
He squeezed his palm—
The spinning cyclone burst apart into harmless wind currents.
Only the hem of Simu's coat fluttered.
He turned to glance at Rei and said with a grin:
"Idiot. Like I'd let myself go down that easily."
"...No way…"
Ebizō looked at the barrel in disbelief.
He could still feel heavy chakra sealed inside—it couldn't be a clone…
Simu pushed his glasses with a lazy smile.
"Chakra doesn't matter for someone like me."
Inside the barrel, the Shadow Clone exploded into chakra and dissipated into the air.
It turned out—
Simu had poured all his chakra into the Shadow Clone, tricking Ebizō's senses entirely.
After all… who would ever expect him to be a man who doesn't even need chakra?
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