Hearing Simu's words, Sakamoto's face turned ashen. He desperately wanted to drag Simu down and tear him into a thousand pieces. Unfortunately, dozens of Ghouls had already launched their assault.
They vented the berserk energy within their bodies and the long-simmering rage in their hearts, slaughtering the nobles present with abandon. These pampered aristocrats were like a flock of lambs before the violent Ghouls, completely powerless to resist. Even if one or two fought back, they only gave the Ghouls a greater sense of vengeful pleasure.
Blood, panic, and dread spread continuously through the stadium.
"Don't hold back on your weapons and Paper Bombs! Kill all these bastards immediately!" Sakamoto barked his orders.
As the leading wealthy merchant in the Land of Rivers, he had specially gathered a small ninja team. Abu, who was currently dealing with Mori Shiraishi, was one of them. In addition to Abu, there were seven other ninjas. Among them, Abu and one other were Chunin, while the remaining six were at the Genin level.
"Chairman, what about the audience..." a subordinate ninja hesitated. Every person who could board this "Heaven on Earth" cruise was, without exception, a powerful figure from the Land of Rivers or neighboring nations. Now that they were mixed in with the Ghouls, if they really attacked...
"I said, kill them all." Sakamoto's eyes were as cold as ice.
At Sakamoto's command, the ninjas moved swiftly. Against ordinary people, a Ghoul with a Kagune was indeed like a demon god. However, before battle-hardened ninjas, these Ghouls were not invincible.
Countless kunai rained down from the stands, carrying out an indiscriminate attack on the Ghouls and the audience below. Paper Bombs attached to the kunai fell into the battlefield, and under the ninjas' control, the stadium erupted in a dense series of explosions.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The entire cruise ship shook violently, threatening to sink at any moment. Although Sakamoto had spent a fortune building this vessel, it could not withstand such relentless attacks. Hearing the groans of the ship's hull, Sakamoto's heart bled.
Yet, his ruthlessness yielded results. The strength of the Ghouls varied, and this round of Paper Bomb carpet-bombing wiped out more than half of them. Only the more durable Ghouls, such as those with the Bikaku · Centipede or Koukaku · Antman, managed to survive. Even so, they were heavily wounded.
The most severely affected, however, were the unarmed spectators. Perhaps "wounded" was the wrong word; under such fierce explosions, the vast majority were directly reduced to mincemeat.
Watching this, Sakamoto let out a triumphant smirk. "Heh, you think you can fight me!"
Suddenly, a rock was overturned in the wreckage. A dark red figure shot out like a bolt of silk, charging toward the stands at unimaginable speed.
Sakamoto panicked and shouted, "Quick, stop her!"
The intruder was a woman with jet-black hair. Protruding from her shoulder was a single limb shaped like a long blade—the Kagune known as Rinkaku · Mantis. As for her other limb, it had likely vanished in the previous explosion.
The woman lunged onto the stands like an assassin. Sakamoto's men rushed forward with their weapons drawn. Unfortunately, her Kagune was far superior to the others. A flash of red light passed, and all the weapons aimed at her were sliced in half. Amidst the stunned looks of the crowd, she dove into the mob. With a swing of her sharp, elongated Kagune, five or six people were instantly cut in two at the waist!
Amidst the curtain of blood, the woman crouched slightly, her eyes glowing crimson like a leopard ready to pounce. Seeing that ordinary men were no match for her, the ninjas intervened.
"Earth Style: Earth Spike!"
Chakra surged through the ground, instantly forming a thick, sharp spike that erupted beneath the woman's feet like a monster's fang. The moment the spike emerged, the woman leaped into the air, using her speed once more to head straight for Sakamoto.
"Lightning Style: Ground Net."
Fine, dense electrical arcs, resembling a fishing net, spread along the floor from another ninja's hand. The sprinting female Ghoul was caught off guard, and the paralysis from the electricity caused her muscles to stiffen for a split second.
In that instant, another ninja used the Body Flicker Jutsu to appear before her, swinging his katana down with a roar!
A single strike decapitated her. The ninja spat on the ground in disdain. "Tch, so much for 'Ghouls.' They're nothing special."
"Watch above!" a comrade shouted from behind.
The ninja looked up to see a black shadow enveloping him. A man completely covered in a pitch-black Kagune armor smashed into him like a cannonball, pinning him into the floor!
"Boom!"
The massive impact from the fall hammered a large crater into the ground, killing the ninja on the spot. Seeing their comrade fall, the other ninjas exchanged looks and grew serious.
"Earth Style: Earth Rising Jutsu!"
The ground beneath the Ghoul encased in the Koukaku · Antman suddenly rose, lifting him into the air. Immediately after, a ball of searing red flames sped toward him.
A direct hit!
The violent explosion released terrifying heat, sending a shockwave in every direction. Despite the immense defense of the Koukaku · Antman, the Ghoul was reduced to charcoal within the high-temperature fire.
Witnessing this, the other Ghouls who were about to move suddenly froze in their tracks.
"I have to say, these ninjas are quite capable," Simu remarked, stroking his chin with a note of praise.
Hidan, however, was different. He looked down on everyone except Simu. "Just a few low-level jutsu. If I stepped in, they'd all be dead already."
Simu ignored him. In a sense, Hidan was right. But what Simu wanted was more than just a simple victory or defeat.
In the stadium, the ninja named Abu walked step-by-step toward the Shiraishi family of three. During the explosion, Abu had used an Earth Style jutsu to submerge into the ground, successfully avoiding damage. The Shiraishi family, however, had stayed on the surface and taken the full force of the blast.
By now, including Mori Shiraishi, they were all heavily injured.
"Just die quietly. I don't have time to drag this out any longer." Abu held his blade, his gaze sharp.
Mori Shiraishi's exoskeleton was on the verge of shattering from the impact, but to protect his parents, he struggled to his feet to face Abu.
In the next heartbeat, Abu vanished again. Suddenly, a bright flash of blade light filled Mori Shiraishi's entire field of vision!