The results of the semi-finals were freshly announced.
As expected, Lu Jiu was defeated by Sunagakure's Baki.
This left only Simu and Minato representing Konoha in the tournament.
Additionally, Sunagakure's Pakura emerged victorious.
Meanwhile, Iwagakure's ninjas were completely eliminated, with Kitsuchi securing second place.
Seeing this, the Rock Shinobi looked at Simu with frustration.
If he hadn't eliminated Han in the first round, their Rock Shinobi wouldn't have been in such an embarrassing situation.
Fortunately, there was still Cloud Shinobi, who didn't even make it past the knockout stage, ranking at the bottom.
At this point, Konoha and Sunagakure seemed to be the biggest winners.
Mifune, the tournament's referee, announced the matchups for the third round with an indifferent expression.
"Yagura vs. Simu."
"Baki vs. Minato."
"I didn't expect this tournament to turn into a duel between Sunagakure and Konoha in the end," someone remarked.
Jiraiya, holding a bag of potato chips, happily munched away.
After all, the two remaining Konoha participants were both his students.
He couldn't help but feel proud.
The match between Simu and Pakura was up first.
Pakura ran a hand through her orange-red bangs and licked her lips, gazing at Simu with interest.
"I like you," she said bluntly.
The moment she spoke, Kushina, watching from the audience, instantly exploded in rage.
"Don't stop me! I'm going up there to beat her up!"
She struggled fiercely, but Minato held onto her tightly, doing everything he could to keep her from charging onto the field.
Pakura smirked.
"It seems like that girl is your girlfriend."
She folded her arms under her chest, emphasizing her curves.
Then, in a sultry tone, she continued, "Don't you think I'm better than her?"
"As long as you join Sunagakure, you can have me. How about it?"
"Trust me, Sunagakure will never let you down."
Simu suddenly felt an intense chill run down his spine, as if countless cold blades were pressing against his back.
With his hands still in his pockets, he replied calmly, "Sunagakure?"
"Sorry, I'm not interested in a backwater village like that."
"You should be more worried about yourself. You never know when your village might abandon you."
Recalling Pakura's tragic fate in the original timeline, Simu spoke with a meaningful tone.
Pakura raised an eyebrow. "It's one thing for you to reject me, but do you have to sow discord?"
Simu simply shrugged.
Whether she believed him or not was none of his concern.
Her fate had nothing to do with him.
"If you won't take the easy way, then I'll just have to defeat you."
Pakura took a combat stance.
"Oh no, are all Sunagakure girls this scary?" Simu teased, tilting his head. "Be careful, or you might never get married."
"I don't need you worrying about that!"
"Scorch Style: Oversteam Kill!"
Red will-o'-the-wisps ignited in the air.
For most opponents, this technique would be extremely difficult to deal with, but to Simu, it posed no threat at all.
With Observation Haki predicting her movements, Pakura's attacks couldn't even touch him.
And even if they did, Simu could turn intangible at any time using his Logia powers.
But there was no need for that—Pakura wasn't fast enough to keep up with him.
Countless red orbs of fire rained down, yet Simu had already vanished.
Anticipating his speed, Pakura had strategically placed some will-o'-the-wisps around her to block his approach.
Unfortunately for her, Simu had no intention of playing by her rules.
Moving to the outskirts of her fiery barrier, Simu raised his palm and pointed it at Pakura.
"Are you ready?"
With a sharp sizzling sound, a barrage of lasers shot from his hand.
It was like an unstoppable Gatling gun of light!
Thanks to his mastery of Life Return, Simu's physical strength had improved drastically.
And with a stronger body came enhanced stamina.
Even after three matches today, he was barely feeling any fatigue.
The physical endurance of people from the Pirate World was far beyond anything in this world.
Through the smoke, a crimson fire dragon suddenly burst forth, roaring as it lunged at Simu.
This was a dragon made entirely of Scorch Style flames.
Anything it touched would have its moisture instantly evaporated, leaving behind only a shriveled husk.
An A-rank jutsu—[Red Flame Dragon Technique].
"Scary…" Simu mused.
But he was getting tired of these dull fights.
A golden flash flickered, and in the next instant, Simu's Armament Haki-infused light-speed kick smashed into the fire dragon's head!
Golden light clashed with crimson fire.
Simu kept his hands in his pockets and effortlessly stomped down on the fire dragon's head.
Pakura could only watch in shock as her chakra-consuming dragon was forced down inch by inch!
Then, with one final stomp, the entire flaming beast collapsed in an instant!
A thick cloud of white smoke erupted, while the ground beneath melted into a glowing pool of lava.
A massive fissure split the battlefield, extending all the way to where Pakura stood.
Simu casually lifted a finger.
A single laser beam shot out, piercing Pakura's shoulder in an instant.
The match was over.
Pakura stared at Simu in disbelief.
"Why…? I clearly made contact with you…"
Scorch Style was a fusion of Fire Style and Wind Style.
It could instantly evaporate all moisture from anything it touched.
But Simu had stepped on her fire dragon earlier—so why was he completely unharmed?
"It's a secret," Simu said with a smirk.
Retracting his foot, he turned and leisurely walked back towards the audience.
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