"Black market! It's a black market!"
The gangster stammered in a panic, afraid that if he hesitated, Simu would kill him.
"Black market?"
Simu stroked his chin, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Sounds like an interesting place."
"That's right! It's the black market!" the gangster hurriedly replied.
"About ten kilometers in that direction, underground—there's a black market. The children we capture are all sent there and sold for money."
Simu adjusted his sunglasses slightly.
"A profitable business, huh?"
He sneered. "It seems those people must be making a lot of money."
Then, with a casual flick of his foot, he kicked the gangster into the air before catching him by the collar.
"In that case, sir," Simu said coldly, "please accompany me for a little walk."
He grabbed the gangster with one hand and then kicked another one—who was still groaning on the ground—toward Kushina.
"Kushina, kill him."
"...Me?"
Kushina froze.
She had assumed Simu would do it himself, but he had handed the final blow to her instead...
She hesitated and turned to Minato for help.
Without a word, Minato pulled out a kunai and handed it to her.
"Go ahead," he said, patting her shoulder.
Clearly, he agreed with Simu's decision.
After all, this mission was meant to expose their team to real bloodshed.
Minato had already killed an enemy.
Simu? A single attack from him had wiped out an entire group.
Now, only Kushina remained.
She swallowed nervously, then took the kunai from Minato's hand.
With a tight grip, she clenched her fists and shut her eyes before swinging the blade at the wounded gangster in front of her.
Slash!
The kunai sliced through flesh effortlessly.
Warm, crimson blood gushed from the man's throat, splattering onto Kushina's pale face.
The thick scent of burning flesh, blood, and excrement mixed in the air.
Her trembling fingers held the blood-stained kunai tightly.
The corpse at her feet gradually grew cold.
A sudden nausea churned in her stomach.
She clenched her teeth, suppressing the wave of sickness through sheer willpower.
"Haah..."
Taking a deep breath, she looked down at her bloodstained hands, then at the children wrapped in the Coat of Justice nearby.
Her eyes slowly hardened.
It was as if something in her mind had shattered.
At that moment—
She changed.
She was no longer just a red-haired girl who was bullied at the ninja academy, repeating the dream of becoming Hokage every day.
Now, she was a real ninja.
One baptized in blood and fire.
Simu nodded approvingly.
For a girl who had never killed before, this was already impressive.
Minato seemed to sense what Simu was about to do next and quickly intervened.
"Simu, we don't have enough information on the black market yet. Shouldn't we investigate before making a move?"
After all, the black market was full of mercenaries.
Some of them were extremely dangerous.
Among them, one name stood out—Kakuzu.
A man who had fought the First Hokage and lived to tell the tale.
"If we wait too long, those kids will be gone," Simu replied flatly, then turned to leave.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
In the next second, he carried the gangster and vanished in a flash of golden light, dashing into the forest.
A few blinks later, he was completely out of sight.
All that remained was the gangster's panicked screams echoing through the trees.
"Simu..."
Minato instinctively reached out, but it was already too late.
From the shadows, Jiraiya finally stepped forward, frowning.
"This is a mess," he muttered.
Simu was strong, no doubt about that.
But the mercenaries at the black market were hardened killers, living by the blade.
Some of them had Jōnin-level strength.
If Simu ran into the wrong people...
There was no guarantee he'd make it out alive.
"You two take these children back to the village," Jiraiya ordered. "I'll go after that idiot."
"Understood."
Minato hesitated.
He wanted to go with Jiraiya to back up Simu.
But with Kushina still unsteady from her first kill, he decided to stay and protect her instead.
Meanwhile, Simu raced through the trees at blinding speed.
The gangster he was carrying was barely holding on.
Not everyone had Simu's monstrous physique to withstand such a rapid sprint.
By the time Simu finally stopped, the gangster collapsed, gasping for air.
He could do nothing but roll on the ground, vomiting uncontrollably.
"Where's the exchange?"
Simu's cold voice sent a shiver down the gangster's spine.
Terrified, he quickly swallowed the bile in his throat and pointed toward a massive, dead tree in the distance.
"Under... that tree hole..." he stammered.
"P-please... can you let me go now?"
The gangster raised his head—
Only to be met with a blinding golden light.
Simu sighed.
"Scum like you don't deserve mercy."
With that, he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked toward the tree hole.
"Hmm... a well-hidden entrance."
His sharp senses picked up on it immediately.
A terrifying presence was lurking inside.
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