The few strands of red hair lying quietly on the ground were like the first light of dawn in the dark night—extremely conspicuous.
Simu's expression eased slightly as he picked up the hair and examined it.
After confirming that it was indeed Kushina's, the killing intent in his eyes intensified.
Without hesitation, he raised his palm, and a dazzling laser shot from his fingertips into the sky.
Not far away, Minato caught sight of the signal and immediately rushed toward Simu.
Meanwhile, Simu transformed into a flash of light, speeding along the trail left by Kushina and Rei.
He had to stop the Cloud Shinobi before they reached the border.
Simu's expression was grim.
He wasn't sure if his presence in this world would change the course of events.
But one thing was certain—Cloud Shinobi had managed to piss him off.
On the other side, the Cloud Shinobi, who had taken Kushina and Rei hostage, were sprinting toward the border at full speed.
Kushina, carrying the powerful bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan, was the first to regain consciousness.
After leaving enough markers along the way, she began struggling fiercely, trying to slow down her captors.
"You little bitch, enough of this!"
"One more move, and I'll kill you!"
The Cloud Shinobi had shed their disguises by now.
A bald man with a scar running across his face pressed a sharp kunai against Kushina's neck, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.
If Konoha caught up, they'd be in serious trouble.
"Calm down. Killing her here would only make things worse for us," another Cloud Shinobi Jōnin interjected.
This girl was the Nine Tails' Jinchūriki. If she was provoked and the seal broke, they'd all die right here.
Dying was one thing, but more importantly, all of Cloud Shinobi Village's preparations would have been in vain.
At this very moment, more than a dozen fake teams were acting as decoys to distract Konoha.
They could not let those efforts go to waste.
"Hmph."
A cold snort interrupted the conversation.
All eyes turned to their leader—Lei Xiao, an elite Jōnin of Cloud Shinobi.
"Lord Lei Xiao, we'll reach the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Thunder in another 50 kilometers. Should we rest first?"
"Konoha's idiots probably haven't figured out our real escape route yet," sneered one of the Shinobi.
The ease of their infiltration made Yuki, one of the team members, look down on Konoha.
However, Tayura, standing beside him, frowned.
"If you want to rest, wait until we reach the Land of Thunder. Konoha is not as weak as you think."
Unlike the others, Tayura had once been a Konoha Shinobi.
He knew very well how strong Konoha truly was.
Now was not the time to get complacent.
"Heh, afraid already?" Yuki sneered.
A traitor like Tayura was never welcome anywhere.
But Tayura didn't care—he only wanted to gain what he could from the Land of Thunder.
Their leader, Lei Xiao, had a rugged face, a rock-hard brown complexion, and a deep cross-shaped scar over his right eye.
His expression was as cold as iron.
"Enough. Stop arguing," Lei Xiao ordered.
He glanced at the dense forest behind them.
They had already covered hundreds of kilometers—Konoha's forces shouldn't be able to catch up so quickly.
More importantly, the intense escape had drained their stamina.
The six of them were already exhausted—it wouldn't be wise to push forward at full speed.
They needed to conserve energy for any potential battles.
Lei Xiao quickly issued his command.
"No stopping, but slow down. The border is close—Lord A will meet us there."
"Yes, sir!"
For the sake of this mission, A, the next Raikage, had already led a Thunder Country army to the border.
Once they arrived, Konoha would have no choice but to go to war if they wanted their Jinchūriki back.
"Help… help me…"
Kushina's vision blurred as exhaustion took hold.
Not far away, Hyūga Rei slowly opened his eyes.
For a brief moment, their gazes met.
In the darkness of the night, the same figure appeared in their minds.
Black hair.
Black eyes.
That ever-casual expression that made people want to punch him.
No matter the situation, he always looked indifferent—yet he always acted as if he had everything under control.
What an infuriating guy…
Kushina suddenly thought, If Simu were here, he'd definitely find a way to save us.
She didn't know when it started, but she found herself thinking about him more and more… depending on him more and more…
"Simu…"
"Mr. Simu…"
The two of them murmured his name in their hearts.
At that moment, a gust of wind swept through the forest.
Dark clouds moved in, obscuring the moon.
The dim night sky lost its final sliver of light.
Suddenly—
The darkness was torn apart by a blinding golden light.
Like a thunderbolt, a golden flash fell from the sky, cutting off the Cloud Shinobi's path.
"Simu!"
"Mr. Simu!"
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