"Who's there?!"
The lead Kumogakure Jonin snapped his head up, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints.
All he saw was a blinding bolt of lightning descending from the sky. Its violent Chakra fluctuations made even the air seem to scream under the strain.
Was that... an A-Rank jutsu?!
And with one-handed Hand Seals?!
The thought had barely crossed his mind when a black lightning bolt, condensed to its limit, pierced his chest.
Squelch!
Blood and shredded organs sprayed out.
The Kumogakure Jonin had survived countless brushes with death on the battlefield. Yet shock and terror still lingered on his face as his body collapsed.
Even in death, he could not understand when Konoha had gained such a young Lightning Release monster.
"Captain!"
The two remaining Kumogakure Ninja were scared out of their wits. They had not even seen their enemy move.
Fast!
Too fast!
That was not a speed any human should possess. It was lightning itself!
Kushina, pinned to the ground, was just as stunned.
She looked up and saw a boy in an ANBU uniform descend slowly through the fading lightning.
His Owl Mask looked mysterious and imposing in the moonlight. Beneath it, his eyes were as still as a bottomless, icy pool.
"Konoha ANBU...?"
One of the Kumogakure Ninja raised his Kunai with a trembling hand and shouted in a voice that betrayed his fear, "Who the hell are you?!"
Baishi did not answer.
He simply looked at them as though they were already corpses.
Max-Level Lightning Release had given him more than power. It had given him the confidence of absolute control.
He could even clearly sense their heartbeats quickening with fear and the chaotic flow of Chakra through their bodies.
Weak. They wouldn't stand a chance.
"The second."
Baishi vanished from where he stood.
Crackle!
Lightning flashed!
The Kumogakure Ninja who had spoken felt a chill at his neck. Then the whole world spun.
The last thing he saw was his own headless body and the boy's indifferent back as he appeared behind him.
Killed in an instant!
Another instant kill!
The last Kumogakure Ninja broke completely. He abandoned Kushina and turned to flee.
Terror had shattered his nerve.
This was no battle. It was a one-sided slaughter!
But Baishi had no intention of letting him escape.
"Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear."
Baishi curled the fingers of his right hand. A tightly concentrated spear of lightning shot out and pierced the fleeing ninja's heart from behind.
The entire fight had lasted less than ten seconds.
Three elite Kumogakure Ninja had died without managing to unleash a single decent jutsu.
Silence returned to the forest. Only the thick smell of blood and the lingering scent of ozone remained.
It had not even been a fair fight.
That was what S-Rank Lightning Release talent did to ordinary ninja. It put Baishi on an entirely different level.
Baishi stood where he was, breathing lightly.
Casting two high-level Lightning Release jutsu in succession had drained a great deal of Chakra from his simulated body. His muscles throbbed from the strain.
But he could not contain his excitement.
This was power!
The power to control his own fate!
He turned toward Uzumaki Kushina, who was still sitting on the ground, stunned.
The girl's red hair looked especially vivid in the moonlight. His masked figure was reflected in her violet eyes, which held shock, confusion, and a trace of... dependence born from surviving a brush with death.
Good.
Baishi silently assessed the result.
The first step was perfect.
Now for the second: leave a deeper impression and steal that "bond" for good.
He walked toward Kushina one steady step at a time, radiating a reassuring sense of strength.
Kushina instinctively drew back. But when she saw the calm look in his eyes, she stopped and merely clenched her fists.
Baishi crouched in front of her and reached out.
He did not help her up. Instead, he gently picked up a strand of red hair that had fallen beside her cheek.
In the original story, Namikaze Minato had done this.
Now Baishi had stolen that memorable moment.
"Your hair is beautiful."
Baishi's voice came through the Mask, deliberately roughened but gentle.
"That flash of red guided me all the way here."
Boom!
Kushina's mind went blank, and her cheeks flushed scarlet.
She had been mocked as "Tomato" for her red hair since childhood. This was the first time anyone had praised it so sincerely.
And he had said it so gently, right after saving her life.
The masked ANBU boy seemed like a ray of light tearing through all her fear and unease.
"Wh-what's your name?" Kushina asked softly, gathering her courage.
Baishi shook his head.
"ANBU have no names. Only code names."
He gave her no chance to ask more. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her into his arms.
She was light and carried a faint, pleasant fragrance.
"Ah!" Kushina cried out, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck. Her cheeks felt ready to burst into flames.
"Hold on tight. We need to get out of here."
Baishi was about to use the Body Flicker Technique.
Suddenly, his expression changed. Blood gushed from beneath his Mask and stained the front of his uniform.
Pfft!
"Hey! What's wrong?!" Kushina shouted in alarm.
Baishi swayed, but the arms holding her remained steady.
He could feel his simulated body's life force draining away.
Before dying, the lead Kumogakure Ninja had grazed Baishi's side with a poison-coated Kunai.
The poison had been designed specifically for ninja, to destroy their Chakra Meridians.
[Warning! Simulated body functions severely impaired. Vital signs are rapidly declining!] [Simulation will be forcibly terminated soon!]
Baishi saw the warnings and felt not panic, but a surge of delight.
What a stroke of luck!
He had been wondering how to make the perfect exit. Now even fate was helping him!
Nothing would leave a deeper mark on a girl's heart than a sacrifice "for love"!
"Don't be afraid..."
Baishi's voice grew terribly weak, but he held Kushina even tighter, as though he wanted to draw her into himself.
"I... I told you I'd protect you..."
His vision began to blur, but he forced himself onward, racing through the forest.
He knew Namikaze Minato would arrive soon.
He had to finish this "heartfelt" farewell before Minato got there.
At last, in an open stretch of woodland, he saw a flash of gold in the distance.
Here he comes!
Beneath his Mask, Baishi's lips curved in a smile no one could see.
He staggered to a stop. His legs gave way, and he fell onto the grass with Kushina still in his arms.
"Hey! Hang on! Don't die!"
Kushina burst into tears. She scrambled to help Baishi up, only to find her hand covered in hot blood.
"Don't... don't cry..."
Baishi struggled to raise a hand to wipe away her tears, but it fell limp before reaching her face.
"Your hair... is beautiful... It really is..."
He looked at Kushina, his eyes filled with feigned affection and reluctance to leave her.
"If... if I die for you..."
"I... have no regrets..."
With his final line delivered, Baishi's head lolled to one side. He had "died."
[Simulation ended.] [Rating: S (Perfect)] [Congratulations, host! You successfully stole Namikaze Minato's "hero saves the beauty" fortune and changed a turning point in Uzumaki Kushina's fate.]
At that moment, a golden flash streaked past. Namikaze Minato had finally arrived.
He stared at the ANBU operative lying in a pool of blood and at Kushina sobbing over his body. He froze.
He was too late.
In the real world, inside a restroom at the Konoha ANBU Base.
Baishi's eyes flew open, and he gasped for breath.
He was still standing before the mirror. Only a minute had passed since he had accepted the suicide mission.
Yet the simulation had felt as real as something he had lived through.
[Calculating simulation rewards...] [1. Talent acquired: Lightning Release Affinity (S-Rank)] [2. Bond acquired: Uzumaki Kushina (Life-and-Death Vow)] [3. Chakra acquired: 500 units.] [Talent integration in progress. Host, brace yourself for physical reconstruction...]
The next instant, agonizing pain swept through his entire body!
It felt as though countless steel needles were piercing every cell at once. Violent Lightning Release Chakra ruthlessly reshaped his Meridians.
"Gaaah—!"
Baishi gritted his teeth as his whole body shook. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
He could clearly feel his body undergoing a complete transformation!
After what felt like an eternity, the pain gradually faded, replaced by a sense of strength unlike anything he had ever known.
He raised a hand. A tiny arc of electricity danced at his fingertip.
He had succeeded!
He was no longer cannon fodder for others to slaughter!
Just as Baishi was reveling in his new power, a deafening crash erupted outside the base!
BOOM—!!!
It sounded as if something had been smashed apart by force.
The entire underground base shook.
Alarms blared!
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Someone's forcing their way through the base entrance!"
"Quick! Reinforce the main entrance!"
Countless ANBU members rushed past him.
Baishi's heart tightened, and he was about to follow them to see what had happened.
Just then, a girl's voice rang throughout the ANBU Base, filled with boundless rage and obsession and charged with violent Nine-Tails Chakra.
It locked onto his position, pierced layer after layer of walls, and slammed into his eardrums.
"Baishi!"
"You bastard! Even if I have to chase you into the Underworld, I'll never let you leave me behind again!"