"Hanyu Simu, do you really want the Land of Wind to be doomed forever?"
Salomon asked coldly.
Both he and Simu were incredibly fast. After chasing and catching up, they had already left the battlefield far behind.
Hearing Salomon's question, Simu chuckled.
"How terrifying, Kazekage-sama."
"But let's be honest—the war was started by your Land of Wind."
Simu glanced around.
"This is the Land of Fire's territory. You led an army here, slaughtered so many of Konoha's people, and now you dare ask me if I'll spare you?"
"It's a bit ridiculous, don't you think?"
Salomon sneered.
"Then let's see if you can stop me!"
As his words fell, countless streams of iron sand surged from the ground, flooding the forest and turning it into a sea of black metal.
Simu leapt into the air, using his Sky Steps to avoid being swallowed by the flood of iron sand.
"So Kazekage-sama is finally going all out. Terrifying indeed."
"Seems like you didn't think those Sand Shinobi were worth wasting your Chakra on, huh?"
Salomon stood amidst the roaring sea of iron sand, his expression icy.
Of course, he had wanted to save his people.
But under Simu's relentless assault, using too much Chakra to save others would leave him vulnerable.
If the Kazekage died here in the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind and Sunagakure would face an unprecedented crisis.
He had to escape safely—not just for himself, but for his entire village.
With no intention to waste words, Salomon suddenly raised both arms.
"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Storm!"
The massive sea of iron sand rose into the air, as if gravity had disappeared.
The scale of the attack was enormous—no matter where you ran, there was no escape.
Simu pushed up his sunglasses slightly.
"If there's no way to dodge..."
"Then I won't."
Instead of retreating, he advanced.
With a step in the air, he turned into a golden beam of light and charged straight at the Third Kazekage.
But Salomon knew Simu's fighting style well and had already prepared.
The iron sand surged like a tidal wave, roaring toward Simu.
Simu didn't hesitate.
He slashed with his lightsaber, sending sparks flying as it scraped against the dense, hardened iron sand.
His Chakra might have been depleted, but his Haki remained undiminished.
With a burst of Armament Haki, he tore a massive path through the dark iron waves.
As black iron scattered, a golden ripple appeared beneath Simu's feet, launching him high above the sea of iron.
But Salomon's offense didn't stop.
More waves of iron sand surged forth, trying to encircle Simu and bury him in this dark ocean.
"What a pain."
Golden light gathered around Simu's feet, swirling with intense Armament Haki before exploding outward.
Boom!
Like a missile smashing into the sea, the impact blew apart dozens of waves of iron sand.
A huge channel was blasted open, straight toward Salomon.
The two locked eyes through the swirling iron storm.
Simu raised both hands, aiming at his target.
"Sage Art: Yata Mirror Slash!"
A golden beam streaked across the sky. A flash of light—Salomon, wrapped in iron sand, crashed heavily to the ground.
Simu followed up immediately, stomping hard on the iron sand shield beneath him, shattering it.
His crossed lightsaber slashed down—slicing through Salomon's throat!
"A clone..."
The body before Simu disintegrated into a spray of iron sand.
Suddenly, above Simu's head, the iron sand had gathered again—forming a massive, upside-down black pyramid.
It came crashing down.
This iron sand, condensed to such density, was no different from solid steel.
"Magnet Style: Weighted Pyramid!"
The tip of the pyramid struck the ground with terrifying force, sending shockwaves in every direction.
Cracks spread like spiderwebs.
The ground trembled like an earthquake.
The steel-black pyramid embedded itself deep into the earth.
The battlefield was drowned in smoke and dust.
Salomon gasped for breath, staring at the impact site.
This attack had consumed a massive amount of his Chakra.
It should've been enough... to crush that devil.
"Truly terrifying."
"Almost died to a pyramid, huh?"
The voice echoed beside Salomon's ears like death's whisper.
A chill ran down his spine like a hammer blow.
"Damn... even that didn't work?"
As the dust settled, he saw Simu standing leisurely atop the steel pyramid—completely unharmed.
His hands still in his pockets.
"As expected of a true Kage-level shinobi. You're a real handful."
Simu actually let out a rare sigh of admiration.
Salomon was the first actual Kage Simu had ever fought.
His strength was indeed formidable.
His reaction speed, his battlefield awareness—none of those so-called Elite Jōnin could compare.
The man before him, hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history, manipulated a sea of iron sand like it was an extension of his body.
It had exceeded even Simu's expectations.
He exhaled softly.
"If that's the case, I guess I'll have to switch tactics."
Salomon's expression tensed.
Unexpectedly, Simu vanished—soaring high into the sky.
Then...
"Eight-Fold Yata Magatama!"
Golden lights rained down like a meteor shower.
Salomon froze.
He sensed no trace of Sage Chakra in this attack.
Which meant…
He's finally out of Chakra?!
A surge of hope lit up Salomon's eyes.
Ever since Simu appeared, his terrifying Chakra reserves seemed bottomless.
First, he summoned an enormous beast to heal the entire Konoha force.
Then he single-handedly wiped out wave after wave of Cloud Shinobi.
And not long ago, he unleashed an immortal technique resembling a Tailed Beast Bomb, vaporizing hundreds in a single blast.
Thinking of that, Salomon's expression turned strange.
Because Simu's so-called "nuclear jade" technique… really was too similar to a Tailed Beast Bomb.
As someone who had studied tailed beasts for years, that made Salomon feel more than a little frustrated.
After unleashing such a horrific jutsu, Simu had chased several kilometers to catch up with him.
They had fought for a long time, and now he'd even taken a full hit from that massive pyramid.
Was this guy really the reincarnation of Senju Hashirama?
No matter how vast his Chakra reserves were, the fight should've been over by now!
The sky cleared, and the rain stopped.
Lord Third Kazekage prepared to go all out once again!
He formed hand seals and said coldly, "In that case, I'll eradicate you today!"
Simu's strength had shocked him.
If this man were allowed to keep growing…
He would become a massive threat to the Land of Wind.
Since the decision had already been made to go to war with the Land of Fire, they had to seize every chance to weaken it—even rewriting history if needed!
Seeing the determined look in the Kazekage's eyes, Simu secretly nodded.
Now that's more like it.
Thousands of iron sand spikes shot up into the sky like tentacles stretching out from hell, aiming to ensnare Simu!
In midair, Simu maneuvered using his Observation Haki and Moonwalk.
To bait a bigger fish, he even pretended to struggle—getting caught in the iron sand more than once.
Twice, he was in real danger.
As a last resort, he had to slash through the iron sand with his lightsaber to escape by the skin of his teeth.
Third Kazekage Salomon had his own plan, too.
He knew Simu's light-based powers gave him terrifying speed.
If he released too much power too quickly, Simu might vanish like a flash and flee the battlefield.
So instead, he kept probing while waiting for a one-shot opportunity to kill.
He even left deliberate openings now and then, just to tempt Simu into attacking.
And so, the two kept acting like this.
The cunning standoff lasted four whole hours!
Both were fighting at full intensity.
Simu was disheveled now—even his beloved cloak of justice was covered in dust.
But the longer the battle went on, the more uneasy Salomon became.
Every time he thought he had Simu cornered, the guy slipped away like a loach.
No matter what Salomon tried, he couldn't catch him.
Meanwhile, that brat—
He looked like he was at death's door four hours ago… and now, he still looked the same!
A bold suspicion crept into Salomon's heart.
"Wait a minute… what if I'm the one being baited here?"
His expression shifted.
Something was very wrong.
He suddenly shouted, "Die, brat!"
"Magnet Style: World Tree!"
All the iron sand twisted together, forming a pitch-black, towering giant tree that crashed down from the sky, aiming straight at Simu!
The scale was so massive that dodging was impossible.
Simu smirked.
"As expected of Kazekage-sama. You figured it out this quickly, huh?"
He couldn't tell whether to praise or mock him.
Simu hadn't used Chakra throughout this long battle.
He'd only been relying on his Devil Fruit abilities and Haki while exchanging blows with the Kazekage.
And on his back were two Katsuyu clones, quietly helping him absorb natural energy.
Combined with the insane physical energy from his Kizaru-tier physique and intense mental concentration, he'd been refining Chakra the whole time.
Now, he had recovered half of it.
Enough to unleash that technique.
He slowly extended his palms and brought them together.
A point of light shimmered into existence.
The natural energy gathered by Katsuyu, the demonic energy of the Devil Fruit, and the willpower-packed Armament Haki—
Three powers poured into the growing orb of light.
That faint glow contained the essence of Simu's strength.
"Sage Art: Ultra Great Core Jade!"
Simu opened his palms.
The tiny speck of light, no larger than a fingernail, floated downward gently.
It faced the massive World Tree—an embodiment of everything the Kazekage had unleashed.
Like a demonic hand stretching from the depths of hell.
Compared to that, Simu's glowing point seemed utterly insignificant.
The Kazekage frowned slightly at the sight.
Did this brat really run out of Chakra?
Had his attempt at something like a Tailed Beast Bomb… failed?
The drifting firefly of light entered the darkness.
As it fell, the three forces inside it began to react.
They fused and split. Then fused again.
The firefly rapidly multiplied.
Each time it split, it absorbed massive amounts of natural energy.
That, in turn, triggered another wave of violent splitting.
Then more absorption.
A carefully constructed, horrifying cycle.
Just two seconds later—
What had been a tiny firefly had grown into a massive sphere of light, forty to fifty meters wide.
Its glow lit up the entire sky!
And what was truly terrifying—
Even at that size, the ball was still splitting, merging, splitting, like a cancer cell out of control!
The Kazekage stared, dumbfounded.
Then, his face twisted in alarm.
Because that terrifying light sphere finally collided with his massive World Tree!
Countless strands of iron sand completely engulfed the light.
More and more sand poured in, trying to smother it.
The Kazekage sighed in relief… but only for a moment.
The giant iron mass suddenly turned red hot.
Then it expanded violently!
He frantically formed more hand seals, trying to pile even more sand onto the light orb.
But it was useless.
Even if he shattered his fingers in the process—it wouldn't change a thing.
The red-hot iron began to melt.
Then—
BOOM!
It shattered.
It took less than 0.1 seconds.
A blinding light engulfed the world.
It wasn't like the sun had risen.
It was like the sun itself had fallen!
Salomon's vision was overwhelmed.
Then came the heat. Intense, hellish heat.
And finally—
A devastating shockwave swept through the forest.
The ground cracked open.
The crust of the earth trembled violently.
Even Konoha Shinobi and Katsuyu clones miles away turned their eyes toward the explosion.
A massive, blinding light orb burst into the sky.
Then came the deafening roar.
The overwhelming force exploded outward before being flung upward into the atmosphere.
Smoke and debris swirled together, forming a towering mushroom cloud.
Akamichi was stunned for a second.
Then he shouted, "Find cover!"
Just as his voice fell—
A monstrous sandstorm swept through the battlefield.
Even the prepared ninjas were blown away by the insane force.
As for the surrounding forest—
Everything within a radius of several kilometers had been reduced to desert.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to [Naj] for joining my Patreon page!🎉 Your support means the world to me. 🙏
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 Naruto fanfic!
[One piece: Starting as a Mythical Beast]