144 Freedom Fighter, Overwhelming Victory

Although Simu had changed clothes now hidden beneath a black windbreaker and wearing a mask his languid voice and overwhelming strength were unmistakable.

Kakuzu's expression changed.

Wage deduction? Absolutely not.

"Leave the rest to me, Boss."

The surrounding Root Ninjas paled.

They didn't know who this masked figure was, but shattering their barrier in an instant? That level of power was undeniable.

More importantly this guy was likely the true leader of the Freedom Fighters!

"Go to hell."

Kakuzu stretched out his hands.

Four masked creatures, each embodying Fire, Thunder, Water, and Wind, burst from his body attacking at the Root Ninjas.

Since they were part of Root, their strength was undoubtedly formidable.

The four retreated simultaneously, swiftly forming hand seals.

However, Kakuzu's masked creatures had the advantage—they didn't need seals.

The Wind Mask opened its mouth.

"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"

A violent gust erupted, trapping the four ninjas in a crushing air current.

Before they could break free 

The Fire Mask attacked next.

"Fire Style: Majestic Blaze!"

Raging flames surged through the wind-enhanced currents, engulfing them instantly.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

A sturdy earth wall rose to block the inferno.

But with Wind Style amplifying the flames, a simple earthen wall was nowhere near enough.

Within seconds, it crumbled to ash.

Those few seconds were just enough for the Root ninjas to retreat.

Unfortunately for them, Kakuzu, already furious over his pay cut, had no intention of letting them escape.

"Earth Style: Earth Terrace!"

Four massive earth walls rose, trapping them from all sides—

Only the sky remained open.

Then, from each direction, the masked monsters emerged.

Lightning. Fire. Wind.

Three devastating ninjutsu rained down at once, engulfing the enclosed pit.

The explosion was catastrophic.

By the time the smoke cleared, nothing remained.

This was the true power of Kakuzu.

His blue-yellow pupils shifted toward the Root ninjas still hiding in the woods.

Without hesitation, he commanded his four monsters 

"Next."

The hunt continued.

The battle between Kakashi and Lindy was nearly over.

With Armament Haki, Lindy had completely overpowered the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

Once she started using Haki, the fight became one-sided.

No matter how many techniques the enemy used, Lindy saw through them in advance.

However, his offensive style lacked defense, and with one arm already injured, he could only use one-handed hand seals, significantly slowing him down.

Even so, she sent the enemy flying once again.

Her white pupils pierced through the dark night, locking onto Nauma's position.

She raised her palm, rapidly condensing Chakra and Armament Haki.

Then 

With a single swing of her hand—

She attacked.

"Eight Trigrams – Thunder Strike!"

Lindy unleashed a devastating attack, Armament Haki infused with Chakra surging out in a powerful shockwave.

The air column blasted Nauma tens of meters away, shattering every tree in its path.

Whether he was alive or dead remained unknown.

But the attack had drained almost all of Lindy's Chakra and Haki.

Her body weakened instantly.

Suddenly

A hand shot out from beneath her feet!

A masked Anbu ninja emerged from the ground, his other hand gripping a ninja blade, aiming straight for Lindy's abdomen.

Exhausted from her previous attack, Lindy couldn't react in time.

"The clowns from Root really have a death wish."

A calm yet imposing voice cut through the battlefield.

Draped in a long trench coat, Simu appeared behind Lindy in an instant.

With effortless ease, he caught her in his arms.

Then 

He stepped forward.

To keep his identity hidden, he chose not to use his Light Fruit.

Instead, he used the thunder powers of the Azure Dragon Fruit.

Purple lightning crackled at his feet, surging with terrifying energy.

The intense thunderlight solidified, shattering the Anbu's blade effortlessly.

The masked ninja's eyes widened in shock 

Before he could react, Simu vanished into the storm of lightning.

His figure became a shadow, swallowed by the thunder.

"Simu..."

Lindy leaned weakly against his chest.

The fierce Valkyrie who had just dominated the battlefield now curled up like a kitten in his arms.

Her bright eyes shimmered, filled with a playful glint.

Simu couldn't resist—he gently kissed her snow-white forehead.

"Let me deal with these Root pests first."

"Mm-hmm."

Lindy nodded obediently.

Meanwhile

Kakashi, still locked in battle with Takine, caught a glimpse of the scene.

He sighed helplessly.

'Great... looks like my teacher only remembers his woman now. Completely forgot about his students, huh?'

The Root ninjas immediately began their retreat.

After all, their mission was to support the Guardian Ninja Force.

But now several of the Twelve Guardians had been obliterated.

They certainly wouldn't stay and die.

"Trying to run?"

Kakuzu sneered.

The four masked monsters beside him unleashed a relentless barrage of ninjutsu—

Fireballs, hurricanes, lightning bolts, torrents of water...

Like a living artillery battery, he bombarded the fleeing Root ninjas.

Above them 

Simu flew into the sky, using Moonwalk.

His Observation Haki spread out, scanning the battlefield.

Every retreating Root ninja was now within his sights.

"Tempest Kick: Qilin Shigure!"

Simu's legs blurred, delivering hundreds of vacuum slashes.

A storm of razor-sharp blades rained down—

Each one precisely aimed at a fleeing target.

"What the—?! This is insane!"

Even the elite Root agents, trained for the worst, felt a chill of fear.

"This… This is a specialized combat technique used by the Freedom Fighters? I didn't expect it to have such power..."

To maintain his cover and solidify his identity as the leader of the Freedom Fighters, Simu deliberately chose to use Marine Six Styles in battle.

But this wasn't just any Six Styles 

The techniques he inherited from Kizaru far surpassed ordinary mastery.

Even Kakashi and the others were stunned.

"So Tempest Kick… can be developed to this level?"

The violent storm of vacuum slashes rained down, relentless and overwhelming.

The Root ninjas' expressions darkened.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

"Wind Style: Great Wind Gust!"

They desperately unleashed defensive ninjutsu.

But it was useless 

Under Simu's relentless barrage, the rock walls crumbled like sand, shredded into dust in an instant.

Many Root ninjas collapsed, critically wounded by the merciless attack.

Seeing this, Kakuzu was about to continue his attack, but Simu raised a hand to stop him.

"Let them go back and report the news," Simu said casually.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. He despised the Root ninjas, but after a brief hesitation, he withdrew his hand.

With the Root forces retreating, the remaining Guardian Ninja troops were no longer a threat.

Many of them, realizing the hopelessness of their situation, raised their hands in surrender.

Kakashi, having finally subdued his opponent, tied her up and dragged her over to Simu.

"What do we do with these guys?" he asked, glancing at the hundreds of captives before them.

Simu stroked his chin, a sly grin forming on his lips.

"We're Freedom Fighters. We don't abuse prisoners."

His tone was light, but his next words carried weight.

"Arrest them all and send them to labor camps."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Reform through labor?"

It was a phrase Simu had created—one Kakashi was all too familiar with.

For over a month now, with uprisings breaking out across various regions, prisoners have been sent to labor camps for "reform through labor."

In reality, they were put to work on infrastructure projects in border towns—digging canals, building houses, and more.

Shikaku approached from the valley and overheard the conversation between Kakashi and Simu.

"These guys could be useful labor."

After all, they were ninjas even with their chakra sealed, their physical abilities far surpassed those of feeble nobles.

They would play a significant role in building Liangshan.

Shikaku's gaze shifted to Takine.

"After this battle, the Daimyo Mansion won't dare to target the Freedom Fighters so easily."

Simu nodded.

"They lost four of their Twelve Guardian Ninjas. The remaining eight will be forced to stay in the capital to protect the Daimyo."

He glanced at the captured woman.

"And she's one of their top-ranking members. She should have plenty of useful intel."

Shikaku turned away.

"I'll have Inoichi come over immediately."

This is the importance of the Yamanaka clan.

Whether the enemy is willing to talk or not, the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques will force them to reveal everything.

If they can extract enough intel from Takine, dealing with the Daimyo Mansion will become much easier.

Simu surveyed the battlefield.

"Next, we need to count the casualties among the Freedom Fighters and ensure their families receive proper support and compensation."

The Freedom Fighters were still a young organization, with many members having joined only in the past month.

Though most weren't particularly strong, they shared one thing in common—a deep hatred for the noble class.

They fought hard, driven by a single goal: to overthrow the oppressive elites.

"Also, we'll speed up the ninja qualification assessments and ninjutsu training."

Simu planned to freely distribute chakra training methods and basic ninjutsu, rapidly building a force with real combat potential.

For now, the Daimyo Mansion wouldn't dare to make a move.

The Freedom Fighters had to seize this window of opportunity to grow stronger

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TO BE CONTINUED

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