Cold water rushed over Baishi's wrists, washing away a trace of nonexistent the smell of blood.
Baishi raised his head and looked at the unfamiliar face in the mirror.
Pale, thin, and with a trace of numbness in his gaze that did not belong to this age.
On his cheek was a pure white animal mask with the codename Owl.
This was the Konoha ANBU Base, three hundred meters underground, a cold cage that never saw the sunlight year-round, filled only with the mix of disinfectant and a faint smell of blood.
Having transmigrated to this world with a high mortality rate for three years, crawling from a war orphan to the lowest rank of the ANBU, every day of Baishi's life was like walking on the edge of a blade.
He had no Kekkei Genkai, no powerful clan background, and was merely cannon fodder that the higher-ups could discard as consumables at any time.
"Owl, the captain is waiting for you in District A-3."
Another ANBU member wearing a mask passed by him, whose voice was completely flat, like two stones rubbing against each other.
Baishi's heart sank.
District A-3 was the place where the ANBU received S-Rank top-secret missions.
For ordinary ANBU members, an S-Rank mission meant a narrow escape with nine deaths and one life.
For cannon fodder like him with no background, an S-Rank mission was simply a one-way death notice.
"Understood."
Baishi turned off the tap, his voice equally cold.
He straightened the black tight-fitting outfit and tactical vest on his body, gripped the ninja blade at his waist, and walked toward the corridor leading to despair.
The so-called Will of Fire is nothing more than an anesthetic that makes young people willingly go to their deaths. What a cheap and useful tool.
Baishi sneered inwardly, but his pace did not hesitate in the slightest.
In the ANBU, obedience was the only rule for survival.
In District A-3, inside a spacious room, there was only one tall Anbu Captain.
"Owl." The captain stood with his back to him, his voice cold. "An hour from now, you will serve as bait to lure a team of Iwagakure Jonin who have sneaked into the borders of the Land of Fire. Your mission is to use your life to create a one-hit-kill opportunity for the following forces."
Without any superfluous nonsense, he directly pronounced the death sentence.
Baishi knelt on one knee with his head lowered deeply, concealing the cold gaze beneath the mask.
"For Konoha, this subordinate will gladly die a thousand deaths, Lord Hokage."
He spoke the most fanatical slogans aloud while frantically counting down the final moments of his life in his heart.
Bait?
To put it bluntly, it was going to his death.
Facing an entire team of Iwagakure Jonin, he wouldn't even last a single second.
This was the fate of cannon fodder, casually decided upon by the higher-ups and then cleaned up like trash.
He was unwilling.
He was extremely unwilling!
Why should he become a sacrifice in the game of the big figures? Why should those "children of destiny" born with a silver spoon in their mouths possess everything?
Right at that moment, a cold mechanical sound rang in his mind.
[Detected host's strong desire to survive and extreme resentment toward the injustice of fate...]
[Life Script Simulator successfully bound...]
[This simulator can consume Chakra to enter script simulations of parallel spaces, intercepting target fortunes, bonds, and opportunities by altering critical destiny nodes of key figures.]
Baishi was suddenly startled, his heart beating wildly.
A cheat!
In this must-die desperate situation, his cheat had finally arrived!
[Novice welfare distributed: open a life script simulation for free.]
[Please select the target character whose fortune to intercept...]
A virtual light screen unfolded before Baishi's eyes, with countless names floating upon it.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Orochimaru, Tsunade...
Baishi's gaze swept across them rapidly, and finally, it locked onto an incomparably dazzling name.
Namikaze Minato!
The future Fourth Hokage, the fastest ninja in the Shinobi World, the pinnacle of commoner ninjas, and one of the men with the most flourishing fortune in the entire Shinobi World!
If he was going to intercept, he would intercept the thickest thigh!
I choose Namikaze Minato! Baishi roared in his heart.
[Target locked: Namikaze Minato.]
[Searching for major fortune nodes in his life script... Search complete.]
Chapter 1: The Cloud Hidden Kidnapping Night
[Key Node 1: Cloud Hidden Kidnapping Night.]
[Plot Summary: After graduating from the Ninja Academy, Uzumaki Kushina was kidnapped by Kumogakure Ninja due to her special chakra and Uzumaki Bloodline. Relying on his superior tracking ability and talent, Namikaze Minato successfully played the hero saving the damsel in distress at the border of the Land of Fire, and forged a lifelong bond with Uzumaki Kushina.]
[Consume chakra to start this simulation?]
"Start!"
Baishi did not hesitate at all.
This was his only chance of survival!
In an instant, he felt half of the chakra in his entire body drained away by an invisible force, and everything before his eyes began to twist and spin.
The cold ANBU Base around him dissolved into countless spots of light and scattered.
Replacing it were a dense forest, a cold moonlight, and... the sounds of intense combat!
"Let me go! You bastards!"
A stubborn young girl's voice rang out not far away.
Baishi's consciousness snapped awake, and he found himself lurking in the canopy of a tall tree, his body impossibly light.
He looked down.
Beneath the moonlight, a red-haired girl was pinned firmly to the ground by three tall Kumogakure Ninja.
There was blood at the corner of the girl's mouth, but her gaze was as fierce as a trapped lioness.
Uzumaki Kushina!
Meanwhile, on his retina, a virtual panel that only he could see was refreshing its information.
[Simulation Scene: Border Forest of the Land of Fire]
[Current Identity: Konoha ANBU Genin (Simulation)]
[Mission Objective: Rescue Uzumaki Kushina before Namikaze Minato arrives, and intercept the "hero saving the beauty" fortune.]
[Estimated arrival time of Namikaze Minato: 5 minutes and 21 seconds.]
[Detected that the host's current strength is insufficient to fight three Kumogakure Chunin. Consume simulation points to exchange for temporary abilities?]
[Available Exchange List:]
[1. Maxed Lightning Release Affinity (S-Rank): Instantly master the ultimate nature transformation of Lightning Release Chakra, capable of performing A-Rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu with one-handed hand seals.]
[2. Body Flicker Technique Mastery (A-Rank): Greatly enhance movement speed and reflex nerves.]
[3. Incomplete Uzumaki Sage Body: Temporarily gain massive chakra and vitality.]
Looking at the options on the panel, Baishi did not hesitate.
In the ninja world, attacks were high and defenses were low. To end a battle in the shortest possible time, he had to possess ultimate offensive power!
"I choose Maxed Lightning Release Affinity!"
[Exchange successful.]
The moment his words fell, Baishi felt an incomparably violent energy surge into his limbs and bones!
Zzt--
Light-blue arcs of electricity leaped wildly across the surface of his skin, and every cell in his body emitted a painful yet excited screech under the stimulation of the Lightning Release Chakra.
As if innate, countless pieces of knowledge regarding Lightning Release, hand-seal techniques, and combat experience flooded into his mind.
He even felt that with just a single thought, he could transform into lightning itself!
At that moment, the Kumogakure Ninja below lost their patience.
"Don't waste time with her! Break her limbs and take her away!" the leading Kumogakure shouted.
Another Kumogakure grinned hideously and raised a kunai, aiming it at Kushina's slender ankle.
"No--!" Kushina roared in despair.
[Estimated arrival time of Namikaze Minato: 3 minutes and 48 seconds.]
Time was running out!
Baishi's gaze instantly turned ice-cold.
He looked at the red-haired girl about to be humiliated, looked at her red hair that shone dazzlingly under the moonlight, and a perfect script formed in his mind instantly.
What he wanted was not just to save her.
What he wanted was to descend in her moment of deepest despair with the most shocking, most perfect, and most affectionate posture!
He wanted to brand his figure deeply into her soul with lightning!
"Right now!"
Baishi's figure leaped down from the treetop.
In mid-air, he formed hand seals with a single hand like lightning.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he directly used the signature ultimate technique of Kakashi's father, the White Fang of the Leaf!
The next second, a flash of lightning, brighter than the moonlight, tore through the entire night sky!
Before you continue