Early the next morning, Simu's team set off towards the Land of Ashes.
Accompanying them were Jōnin Harukami Aso from Kawa Ninja Village and the female ninja who had attacked Simu the previous night—Harukami Torika.
Torika kept glancing at Simu and Minato throughout the journey, as if comparing their strengths to determine who was more powerful.
Over the past year, Namikaze Minato had gained some recognition in the ninja world. While he hadn't yet earned the title of Konoha's Yellow Flash, he had already made a name for himself—an impressive feat for a ninja of his age.
Still, in the end, Torika's gaze lingered on Simu.
To her, he felt stronger.
His performance last night had been too overwhelming, completely capturing her interest.
In Torika's mind, only a man strong enough was worthy of being the father of her offspring.
As for Hyuga Rei...
The moment she sensed Torika's intentions toward Simu, she deliberately positioned herself between them.
Whenever an opportunity arose—whether during rest breaks or casual stops—she made sure to stay glued to Simu's side, making it clear that he was already taken.
This behavior left Simu feeling a little awkward.
Harukami Aso, watching his daughter act this way, could only sigh helplessly.
"At this pace, we should reach the Land of Ashes' perimeter by midnight," Harukami Aso estimated, speaking to Simu and the others as they traveled.
Minato nodded in acknowledgment.
The group continued advancing toward the border.
"There's a security line ahead," Aso suddenly announced, signaling with a hand gesture.
Immediately, everyone dispersed into formation.
Hyuga Rei, acting as the scout, took the central position.
Harukami Aso and Minato took the lead at the front, ready to engage any enemies they encountered.
Simu positioned himself slightly inward, prepared to provide rapid support using his terrifying speed.
Torika stayed at the rear to guard against sneak attacks.
Simu turned to Rei.
"Rei, I'll leave it to you."
"Got it," she responded.
With a slight nod, the veins around her pure white eyes bulged as her Byakugan activated.
In an instant, her vision changed.
The vibrant colors of the world faded into shades of black and white, while chakra signatures stood out clearly in the distance.
She calmly reported her findings.
"There are three teams, each consisting of three ninjas, positioned in a triangular formation. Two teams are stationed on the outer perimeter, while one is placed deeper inside."
It took Rei less than a minute to analyze the entire defensive structure of the Land of Ashes.
Harukami Aso couldn't help but be impressed.
As expected of Konoha, the strongest of the Five Great Nations. They even possess highly specialized Bloodline Limits like this…
After understanding the enemy's defensive setup, Minato nodded.
The triangular formation was a standard defensive layout.
Typically, such formations included at least one sensory-type ninja per team.
If a single team were attacked, the other two would immediately send out a warning and provide backup.
If someone miscalculated and assumed there were only two teams—attempting to slip between them—they would end up facing a three-sided ambush instead.
Now that they had gathered intelligence, they needed a strategy.
Harukami Aso offered a suggestion:
"Since they're positioned like this, we can use deception to slip between two of the squads.
"With our strength, we should be able to eliminate one team before the others have time to react."
For a standard squad, this was indeed the best option.
It was also the only strategy with a high probability of breaking through the defensive line.
However, there was a problem—
This wasn't an ordinary squad.
Simu tapped the diagram Minato had drawn.
"If we only eliminate one team, the remaining two will immediately raise an alarm, and the time we gain will be extremely limited."
Harukami Aso frowned.
"There's no other option. Don't tell me you plan to take out both teams?"
Simu grinned.
"No, I plan to take out all three."
"That's not realistic!"
Harukami Aso rejected the idea outright.
Although he acknowledged Simu's strength, even he didn't believe it was possible for Simu to wipe out three teams alone—and without exposing himself.
But then, Minato spoke up in support of Simu's seemingly reckless plan.
"Mr. Harukami Aso, I understand why this sounds unbelievable to you," Minato said seriously, meeting Aso's gaze.
"But I need to tell you something—both Simu and I are fully capable of taking out a squad on our own."
Simu stretched and yawned.
"This is so troublesome. Let's just do it that way."
Since both Minato and Simu were confident, Aso had no choice but to go along with their plan.
After all, he and Torika were only auxiliary members in this mission.
They didn't have the authority to make decisions.
Thus, he had no choice but to entrust their fates to the two young ninjas in front of him—who weren't even half his age.
Simu would charge in alone to eliminate the inner team.
That team was the only one with a Jōnin among its ranks.
Harukami Aso, Torika, and Hyuga Rei would work together to handle the Chūnin-ranked team on the left.
Meanwhile, Minato would take on the other Chūnin squad by himself.
A thousand meters away, three figures hid within the dense forest.
"Captain, it's already so late. Do you really think there's a chance of an enemy attack?"
A young Chūnin muttered, his voice laced with doubt.
"Even if you gave the ninjas from the Land of Rivers a hundred times more courage, they still wouldn't dare to attack the Land of Ashes."
His reasoning wasn't entirely wrong.
After the end of the Second Ninja World War, with the support of Sunagakure, the ninja system of the Land of Ashes had developed rapidly.
By now, they had completely suppressed the Land of Rivers.
For the past few years, they had always been the aggressors, launching attacks on the Land of Rivers. How could the Land of Rivers dare to retaliate?
"Stay quiet during missions," their squad captain, Jōnin Haihara Jie, reprimanded.
His tone wasn't particularly harsh, but the young Chūnin was clearly a chatterbox.
Ignoring the warning, he continued:
"I heard the Land of Rivers is planning to request support from the Land of Fire. What a cheap trick."
"I don't believe the ninjas from those big nations are really that much stronger than us."
His complaints grew more animated.
"Last time, that so-called elite ninja Kawajiro from the Land of Wind did nothing but chase women all day. If we fought, I bet I could beat him to a pulp."
Of course, receiving aid from a great nation came with a price.
Now that they had accepted Sunagakure's support, it was only natural for Suna's ninjas to have certain privileges in the Land of Ashes.
Many local ninjas weren't happy about this arrangement, but there was little they could do.
"I figure Konoha's ninjas from the Land of Fire are about the same level as Sunagakure's."
"Enough. Stop talking," Jōnin Haihara Jie finally snapped, unable to listen any longer.
The young Chūnin fell silent.
Then, out of nowhere, another voice spoke beside his ear.
"That was quite interesting. Why don't you keep talking?"
A head suddenly poked out from the darkness—Simu.
In that instant, the young Chūnin's pupils shrank in fear.
Before he could react and sound the alarm, Simu's lightsaber pierced straight into his chest.
"You can finish your conversation in the next life," Simu said coldly.
Jōnin Haihara Jie reacted quickly and immediately attempted to form hand seals.
But before he could finish—
Simu was already in front of him.
To avoid drawing attention, Simu deliberately used Shave instead of his usual Flash Step.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't make a sound," he said.
The lightsaber slashed downward, clashing against the ninja sword that Haihara Jie had barely managed to draw.
The impact disrupted his jutsu.
"You… are you from Konoha?"
Haihara Jie had just begun to process the situation when—
Simu delivered a lightning-fast kick to his head.
A speed beyond his comprehension.
Instant kill.
As for the remaining ninja, he had been immobilized long before Simu had even revealed himself—restrained by a Katsuyu leech.
Unable to move, unable to speak.
Simu sat cross-legged in front of the last ninja, his hands casually stuffed into his pockets.
His Observation Haki spread across the battlefield, tracking Minato and Rei's movements.
The operation was progressing smoothly.
Minato, facing off against two Chūnin and one Genin, didn't let his guard down.
Three quick uses of Flying Thunder God—
Three instant kills.
His opponents never even had time to react.
As for Harukami Aso's group, things were going well for them too.
After all, Aso was a Jōnin.
With Hyuga Rei's Byakugan assisting them, spotting the enemy's hiding spots and eliminating them was an easy task.
The only minor incident was that Rei and Torika seemed to be competing against each other—
Their strikes had been a bit too ruthless.
Once the battle was over, Harukami Aso immediately scanned the surroundings for any remaining threats.
Then, turning to Rei, he asked, "Miss Rei, can I trouble you to use your Byakugan to check on the situation with the other two?"
"One moment."
Although Rei had complete confidence in Simu and Minato, this was Aso's first mission with them.
It was natural for him to be concerned.
For a veteran Jōnin to follow the lead of two younger ninjas was already impressive.
There was no harm in confirming the results.
She activated her Byakugan and took a look.
As expected, the enemy targets had all been eliminated.
"No need to worry. It's done."
Receiving Rei's confirmation, Harukami Aso let out a deep sigh of relief.
At the same time, a chilling realization settled over him.
Both Minato and Simu had fought against multiple opponents alone.
And Simu's group had even included a Jōnin.
Though from a minor country, a Jōnin was still a Jōnin.
Yet in such a short span of time, all of their enemies had been wiped out.
And without making a sound.
Konoha's new generation of ninjas… are terrifying.
At that moment, Harukami Aso felt as if his entire life's experience in battle had been completely meaningless.
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