Struggle

Sakamoto's face turned livid upon hearing Simu's words.

He wanted nothing more than to grab Simu and tear him limb from limb right now.

But unfortunately, dozens of Ghouls had already launched their assault.

They wantonly unleashed the violent energy within their bodies, venting the rage they had harbored for who knows how long, slaughtering the nobles present at will, or even torturing them to death!

These pampered nobles were nothing more than a flock of lambs when faced with the rampaging Ghouls, possessing no power to resist.

Even if one or two rose up to fight back, it only served to give these Ghouls a greater sense of vengeful pleasure.

Emotions of bloodlust, panic, and terror spread continuously throughout the arena.

"Do not hoard your weapons or explosive tags; wipe these guys out immediately!"

Sakamoto issued the order.

As the premier wealthy merchant of the Land of Rivers, he had specifically recruited a squad of ninja.

Abu, who was currently dealing with Shiraishi Mori, was one of them. Aside from Abu, there were seven other ninja; among them, Abu and one other were Chunin, while the remaining six were of Genin caliber.

"Chairman, what about the spectators?"

The subordinate ninja hesitated. Everyone who could board this Heaven on Earth was, without exception, a person of power and influence from the Land of Rivers or even neighboring countries.

Now that they were mixed in with the Ghouls, if they really opened fire...

"I said, kill them all."

Sakamoto's eyes were as cold as ice.

Following Sakamoto's command, the ninja moved quickly.

When facing ordinary people, Ghouls possessing Kagune were indeed like demonic gods.

But in front of battle-hardened ninja, these Ghouls were not invincible.

Countless kunai flew down from the stands, attacking the Ghouls and spectators below indiscriminately.

Explosive tags landed on the battlefield along with the kunai, and under the manipulation of the ninja, a dense series of explosions erupted throughout the arena.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The entire cruise ship was shaking violently, at risk of sinking at any moment.

Although this ship was built by Sakamoto at a great cost, it could not withstand such continuous, relentless attacks.

Listening to the groaning of the ship's hull, Sakamoto's heart was bleeding.

The facts proved that his investment had indeed yielded a decent return.

The Ghouls on the scene varied in strength, and this round of explosive carpet-bombing wiped out more than half of the Kagune users directly.

Only the more durable ones, such as the Weihe: Centipede and the Koukaku: Ant-Man types, survived.

But even those who survived were severely wounded.

Of course, the ones who suffered the most were the unarmed spectators.

Perhaps "injured" is the wrong word; under such violent explosions, the vast majority of the audience was blown into minced meat.

Seeing this scene, Sakamoto revealed a triumphant smile.

"Heh, you wanted to fight me?"

Suddenly, a rock was overturned on the battlefield, and a dark red figure darted out like a streak of light, rushing toward the stands at an unimaginable speed.

Sakamoto's expression panicked, and he hurriedly shouted: "Stop her!"

The newcomer was a woman with jet-black hair, dragging a limb that resembled a long blade from her shoulder.

It was the Rinkaku: Mantis.

As for the other one, it must have vanished in the previous explosion.

The woman moved like an assassin, instantly sprinting onto the stands.

Sakamoto's men hurriedly brandished their weapons and surrounded her.

Unfortunately, this woman's Kagune was incomparable to the others; a flash of red light streaked by, and all the incoming weapons were snapped in two.

Before the stunned eyes of the crowd, the woman had already charged into the throng, her slender, sharp Kagune spinning, instantly slicing five or six people in half at the waist!

Amidst the spray of blood, the woman crouched slightly, her eyes scarlet, like a cheetah ready to pounce.

Seeing that ordinary people were no match for this woman, the ninja acted quickly.

"Earth Style: Earth Spikes!"

Chakra conducted through the ground, and a thick, sharp earth spike instantly formed and erupted beneath the woman's feet, looking like the fang of some monster.

The moment the earth spike emerged, the woman leaped into the air, once again utilizing her speed to head straight for Sakamoto.

"Lightning Style: Earth Net."

Dense, fine arcs of electricity, resembling a fishing net, spread out along the ground from another ninja's hands.

The sprinting female Ghoul was caught off guard, and the paralysis from the electric arcs caused her muscles to stiffen for a split second.

It was in this very instant that another ninja used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before her, his ninja blade swinging down fiercely!

A decapitation in one strike!

Having dealt with one Ghoul, he spat on the ground with disdain.

"Tch, so much for these Ghouls."

"Watch out above!"

His companion behind him let out a shout.

The ninja looked up, only to find a dark shadow already looming over him.

A man covered from head to toe in pitch-black Kagune armor slammed into him like a cannonball, driving him deep into the ground!

"Boom!"

The powerful impact from above smashed a massive crater into the earth, and the ninja was killed instantly!

Seeing their comrade perish, the other ninjas exchanged glances and grew serious.

"Earth Release: Ground Elevation Technique!"

The ground beneath the Ghoul wrapped in the Ant-Man Kagune suddenly rose, lifting him into the air.

Immediately following, a scorching, flame-red fireball came hurtling toward him.

A direct hit!

The violent explosion released terrifying heat, and the resulting shockwave swept in every direction.

Even with the formidable defense of the Koukaku: Ant-Man, the Ghoul was reduced to a charred husk by the high temperature, perishing in the sea of flames.

Seeing this, the other Ghouls who had been itching to move suddenly halted their steps.

"I have to say, these ninjas are quite impressive."

Simu rubbed his chin, a note of approval in his voice.

Hidan was different; he looked down on everyone except Simu.

"It's just a few low-level ninjutsu. If I had made a move, they would have been dead long ago."

Simu ignored Hidan; in a sense, what Hidan said was indeed true.

But what he wanted was not as simple as just winning or losing.

In the arena, the ninja named Abu walked step by step toward Shiraishi Mori and his family.

During the previous explosion, Abu had used an Earth Release jutsu to submerge into the ground, successfully avoiding the damage.

Meanwhile, the three members of Shiraishi Mori's family, left on the surface, had taken the full brunt of the blast.

At this moment, including Shiraishi Mori himself, they were already severely wounded.

"Just die obediently; I don't have time to drag this out any longer."

Abu gripped his ninja blade, his eyes sharp.

The exoskeleton on Shiraishi Mori's body was on the verge of shattering from the impact of the explosion, but to protect his parents, he struggled to his feet, facing Abu head-on.

But the next second, Abu vanished from sight once again.

Immediately after, a brilliant flash of blade light instantly filled Shiraishi Mori's vision!