The Unraveling Lie and the Nine-Tails' "Recharge"

Deep in Baishi's eyes, the greed with which he regarded a high-quality energy source was concealed flawlessly.

In its place lay a perfectly measured lake, frozen over by disappointment.

He did not spare Kushina another glance. Instead, he turned around and gently pushed Mikoto Uchiha, who stood behind him, aside with an utterly weary posture.

"Mikoto, go outside first." His voice was soft, deliberately hoarse, as though every word tugged at wounds deep within him. "I'll... handle things here."

That gesture, that form of address, and those seemingly considerate yet alienating words were like three poison-dipped steel needles stabbing viciously into Kushina's heart.

He called her "Mikoto."

Yet he told Kushina, "I'll handle it."

As though she was not his lover, but trouble that needed to be "handled."

"Baishi..." Kushina's voice instantly softened. The overwhelming fury and jealousy in her scarlet slit pupils were washed away by an even stronger wave of panic.

What she feared most was this man looking at her with those calm, cold eyes.

"Don't go!" She nearly begged as she stepped forward. The Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak around her flickered unstably from the violent turmoil in her mind.

Baishi stopped.

He did not turn around. He merely glanced from the corner of his eye at the Chakra Water Mirror, which was still displaying the battle in the Forest of Death.

The timing was about right.

"Cough... cough cough!"

A bout of violent, suppressed coughing suddenly burst from his throat without warning.

He hunched over sharply, covering his mouth tightly with his right hand as his body trembled violently. Through his fingers, a glaring streak of crimson slowly slid down along the lines of his skin, dripping onto the polished floor and splashing into a small, shocking flower of blood.

"Baishi!"

That drop of blood was like