A wave of sludge, accumulated for god knows how many years, crashed forward. A thick, revolting stench assaulted Simu's nostrils immediately. While this couldn't actually harm his body, he still instinctively furrowed his brows in disgust.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
Simu clapped his hands together. The chakra in his body rapidly transformed into a violent, surging torrent, forming a wall of water that blocked the incoming mud. The two substances collided in the center before shattering apart.
Although Simu rarely used ninjutsu, it didn't mean he lacked the skill. On the contrary, he had meticulously studied a vast number of shinobi bodies and conducted countless experiments. He understood their anatomy perfectly.
He possessed a deep understanding of everything from chakra refinement and the guidance provided by hand signs to the specific pathways chakra took through the body. He knew exactly how a jutsu influenced the physical world and how ninjutsu creations behaved over time. Furthermore, he was able to peer into the origins of chakra from a genetic perspective.
He asked questions the average ninja would never consider: Which organ determines the nature of a shinobi's chakra? Is it a specific part of the cell? Which genetic fragment dictates biological expression?
While other ninjas were busy learning individual jutsus, he was researching how the entire chakra system was born, how it evolved, and what its fundamental principles truly were. With such accumulation, his mastery of ninjutsu was easily among the best in the entire Shinobi World.
Moreover, this specific body was custom-built by Simu for the express purpose of performing ninjutsu. It possessed fire, lightning, water, earth, and wind chakra natures, as well as Yin and Yang styles. With his significant talent in sealing jutsu and space-time ninjutsu, calling him an "all-attribute warrior" was no exaggeration.
Because he understood the flow of chakra so intimately, Simu had no trouble performing ninjutsu without hand signs. Clapping his hands or performing a random sign was mostly just a gesture of respect toward shinobi tradition.
Thus, the Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu—a technique that left countless water style users struggling with complex signs—was for Simu just a common jutsu he could unleash with a simple clap.
The salamander was also stunned as it watched the ferocious water dragon appear instantly before it. Even its master, the man hailed as a Demigod, required several hand signs to release such a technique!
You just clap your hands and it's done?
Simu didn't know how much he had just challenged the salamander's worldview, and even if he did, he wouldn't have cared. He manipulated the water dragon to dive straight into the marsh, slamming into the creature.
Facing the bubbling, foul-smelling marsh, Simu had no intention of engaging the beast in close quarters personally. He pressed his hands down and performed a Summoning Jutsu.
Two upgraded Evil-Faced Ghost Snakes emerged from the smoke with terrifying roars. They plunged into the putrid marsh without hesitation, entangling themselves with the massive salamander.
Although the salamander was quite formidable in close combat, the two Evil-Faced Ghost Snakes were equally strong. The sides traded blows back and forth, turning the entire marsh upside down. The salamander used its agile movements to repeatedly wound the ghost snakes, but every time it attacked, the snakes counterattacked using the Rinkaku protruding from the sides of their bone masks.
After a few minutes, the salamander was covered in wounds. Of course, the two ghost snakes were also on the verge of death. At that moment, Simu activated the numerous Blood Spirit Insects on them. A massive amount of Yang Style chakra, fused with natural energy, began frantically repairing their bodies. Within minutes, the injuries on the ghost snakes were almost entirely healed.
Sensing that this couldn't continue, the salamander finally used its signature move. It opened its wide maw and sprayed the toxic gas that made countless ninjas across the world tremble with fear.
Purple poison gas poured out of the salamander's poison sac, blanketing the entire battlefield in an instant. However, since Simu had anticipated the gas, he was well prepared. Not only did he have an internal air sac, but he had also transplanted massive air sacs into both Evil-Faced Ghost Snakes.
They didn't need to breathe the outside air at all. As for their skin, it was covered in countless layers of Koukaku; even if the poison gas tried to permeate the body through the pores, it was impossible. Consequently, the salamander's greatest trump card was completely neutralized by Simu's foresight.
Realizing things were going south, the salamander desperately tried to use its contract to send a summoning request to its contractor—Hanzo, located in the Hidden Rain Village. But Simu was faster. He used a Body Flicker Jutsu to appear atop the salamander's head, drove a ninja sword into its skull, and released a massive amount of chakra into its body.
The resulting chakra disorder made it impossible for the salamander to continue transmitting information to Hanzo through the formula. Following this, countless Black Beetles swarmed from Simu's body, tunneling into the salamander's anatomy and locking it down completely.
Watching the now-immobile salamander, Simu slowly pushed up his glasses. The battle was over. The physical test was complete.
Indeed, testing this body was Simu's primary objective for this fight. He currently possessed four types of clones:
The Blood Pool Clone, which acted as his main body.
The Crow Clone, used for his identity as Mr. Crow.
The Human Clone, constructed entirely from Kagune.
The Ninja Clone, which utilized pure ninjutsu—the one he was currently using.
Except for the Blood Pool Clone, the functions of the other three could be combined freely. For example, he could create a Crow Clone that used ninjutsu or a Ninja Clone that used Kagune. Such things posed no technical difficulty for the current Simu.
By the time Simu dragged the salamander's body out of the marsh, the battle on Hidan's side had just concluded. It was clear the man had enjoyed himself. The six Hidden Rain ninjas at the stronghold had been broken completely. A giant Jashin symbol was drawn beneath Hidan's feet; clearly, he had been self-mutilating again.
Seeing Simu approach, Hidan deactivated his Death-Controlling Blood and skipped over to him, looking excitedly at the massive creature behind him.
"Simu, I have a feeling! If we sacrifice this big guy to Lord Jashin, he will surely bless us!"
"I still have a use for this guy."
Simu didn't really want to talk to Hidan. He summoned countless crows to lift the salamander's body and flew toward the Akatsuki headquarters.
A salamander, huh...
A smile flickered in Simu's eyes. Toxic gas seemed like a rather excellent weapon of mass destruction.