Struggle

At Simu's words, Sakamoto's face turned livid.

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to drag Simu down and tear him to pieces.

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

They unleashed the violent energy within their bodies, venting rage that had built up for who knew how long as they slaughtered—and even tortured—the nobles present!

These pampered nobles were nothing more than helpless lambs before the ferocious Ghouls, utterly incapable of resisting.

Even if one or two tried to fight back, they merely gave the Ghouls a little more satisfaction in their revenge.

Bloody, panicked, terrified emotions continued to spread through the arena.

"Don't be stingy with your weapons or Kibaku Fuda. Kill every last one of them!"

Sakamoto gave the order.

As one of the Land of Rivers' foremost wealthy merchants, he had specially assembled a ninja squad.

Abu, who was dealing with Shiraishi Mori, was one of them. Besides Abu, there were seven other ninjas. Abu and one other were Chunin, while the remaining six possessed Genin-level strength.

"President, what about these spectators?"

The subordinate ninja hesitated. Anyone who could board this Heaven on Earth was an influential figure from the Land of Rivers or even neighboring countries.

Now that they were mixed in with the Ghouls, if they truly attacked...

"I said, kill them all."

Sakamoto's gaze was cold as ice.

At Sakamoto's command, the ninjas immediately sprang into action.

When facing ordinary people, Ghouls with Kagune truly resembled demons.

But before battle-hardened ninjas, these Ghouls were not invincible.

Countless Kunai shot down from the stands, indiscriminately attacking the Ghouls and spectators below.

Kibaku Fuda fell into the battlefield along with the Kunai. Under the ninjas' control, dense explosions immediately erupted throughout the arena.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

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

Although Sakamoto had spent a fortune building this ship, even it could not withstand such relentless attacks.

Listening to the ship's groans, Sakamoto's heart bled.

The facts proved that his investment had indeed brought considerable returns.

The Ghouls at the scene varied greatly in strength. This wave of Kibaku Fuda had directly wiped out more than half of them.

Only some tougher Ghouls, such as [Weihe: Centipede] and [Koukaku: Ant-Man], survived.

But even those who survived were severely injured.

Of course, the ones hurt worst were the unarmed spectators.

Perhaps it was inaccurate to say they were injured. Under such violent explosions, most of the spectators had been blown directly into pulp.

Sakamoto revealed a smug smile at the sight.

"Heh, and you thought you could fight me!"

Suddenly, a rock was hurled aside on the battlefield, and a dark-red figure shot out like a crimson streak, charging toward the stands at an unimaginable speed.

Sakamoto's expression changed in panic as he hurriedly shouted, "Stop her!"

The newcomer was a woman with jet-black hair and a blade-like limb dragging from her shoulder.

She was the Ghoul with the Kagune [Rinkaku: Mantis].

As for the other one, it had likely been destroyed in the previous explosion.

Like an assassin, the woman instantly dashed onto the stands.

Sakamoto's subordinates hurriedly surrounded her with weapons in hand.

Unfortunately, this woman's Kagune was beyond compare. A flash of red light swept past, and every weapon attacking her was cut in half.

Before the stunned crowd, the woman had already charged into their midst. Her long, sharp Kagune swung, instantly cutting five or six people in half at the waist!

Amid the spreading curtain of blood, the woman lowered her body slightly, her eyes scarlet like a cheetah poised to strike.

Seeing that ordinary people were completely no match for the woman, the ninjas swiftly made their move.

"Earth Release: Earth Spikes!"

Chakra coursed through the ground, and a thick, sharp Earth Spike instantly erupted beneath the woman's feet, resembling the fang of some monster.

The moment the Earth Spike thrust out, the woman happened to leap into the air. Once again displaying her speed, she charged straight at Sakamoto.

"Lightning Release: Earth Net."

Fine arcs of electricity, like a fishing net, spread along the ground from another ninja's hands.

The female Ghoul, running at full speed, was caught off guard. The paralysis from the electricity made her muscles stiffen for an instant.

In that instant, another ninja used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before her, his Ninja Blade slashing down fiercely!

One strike beheaded her!

After dealing with a Ghoul, he spat on the ground disdainfully.

"Tch, Ghouls are nothing special."

"Watch above!"

A companion behind him shouted a warning.

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

A man covered from head to toe in pitch-black Kagune armor crashed down like a cannonball, smashing him into the ground!

"Boom!"

The powerful impact from above blasted a huge crater into the ground, killing that ninja on the spot!

Seeing their companion die, 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 afterward, a blazing red fireball came hurtling toward him.

A direct hit!

The violent explosion released terrifying heat, and the resulting shockwave swept in all directions.

Even with the formidable defense of [Koukaku: Ant-Man], the Ghoul was reduced to a charred mass in the high heat and buried in the sea of flames.

At this sight, the Ghouls who had been eager to move immediately stopped in their tracks.

"I have to admit, these ninjas are pretty impressive."

Simu stroked his chin and voiced his approval.

Hidan was different. He looked down on everyone except Simu.

"They're just a few low-level ninjutsu. If I had made a move, they'd all be dead already."

Simu ignored Hidan. In a sense, Hidan was indeed right.

But Simu wanted more than simply victory or defeat.

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

During the earlier explosions, Abu had used an Earth Release ninjutsu to burrow underground, successfully avoiding the damage.

Meanwhile, the three members of Shiraishi Mori's family who remained on the surface had taken the full force of every explosion.

At this point, Shiraishi Mori included, all three had already been severely injured.

"Die obediently. I don't have time to waste here any longer."

Abu held his Ninja Blade, his gaze sharp.

The exoskeleton on Shiraishi Mori's body was already on the verge of shattering from the explosions, but to protect his parents, he still struggled to his feet and faced Abu.

But in the next second, Abu vanished from before his eyes once more.

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