Nine-Tails is forcibly extracted and max-level Lightning Release clashes head-on with a Tailed Beast Bomb

The dome above collapsed with a roar, and huge stones smashed onto the bluestone slabs, shattering into dust.

The air was filled with the scorched stench of high-concentration chakra burning.

Kushina fell from mid-air like a rag doll, crashing heavily onto the cold ground. Her signature red hair instantly withered, losing all its luster.

Baishi leaned against the shattered rock wall. With every breath, foamy blood gushed from the hole in his chest pierced by the black rod.

Obito stood at the center of the gale, his black robe flapping. He raised his head, the Sharingan in his right eye spinning wildly, the three tomoe quickly connecting to form a bizarre Mangekyo pattern.

In mid-air, the giant demonic fox let out a mountain-shattering roar.

The Nine-Tails' eyes, filled with violent slits, instantly reflected the pattern of the Mangekyo Sharingan. It was completely controlled.

"A perfect weapon." Obito's cold gaze swept over Kushina on the ground, finally landing on Baishi in the corner. "Now, take your Will of Fire and go to hell."

The Nine-Tails opened its abyss-like maw.

Pulsating points of Yin and Yang chakra gathered madly in its mouth. Red and blue intertwined, compressing and collapsing at an extremely terrifying rate.

The surrounding air was instantly sucked dry, forming a visible vacuum vortex. The high-density energy caused the space itself to ripple with distortion.

A black-purple Tailed Beast Bomb, over five meters in diameter, was taking shape.

A destructive pressure, like a tangible mountain, bore down on Baishi's back.

Baishi's vision was blurred by blood.

The simulated body's life force had been completely extinguished. No chakra, no stamina, even standing up was a luxury.

But there was no fear in his heart, only extreme calm.

This was the last chance.

Namikaze Minato had gone to save his son. At this point in time, only he could stand in front of Kushina.

To intercept the ultimate destiny of the original protagonist, to make this woman with the Nine-Tails' power completely infatuated with him in reality, this price was not enough.

He had to push the sense of tragedy to the limit.

Baishi suddenly bit his tongue.

The intense pain pierced his brain like a steel needle, forcibly awakening his nearly stalled nerves.

He extended his only remaining left hand and tightly gripped the Yin-Yang Release Black Rod in his chest. His fingers exerted force, tearing his muscles.

"Ch-!"

He forcefully pulled the barbed black rod out of his flesh and bone!

Scalding blood splattered onto his mask. Baishi didn't even grunt. Using the momentum from pulling out the black rod, he staggered to his feet.

Obito looked at Baishi standing up, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"Still not giving up?"

The Tailed Beast Bomb in the Nine-Tails' mouth had completely formed, its destructive light ready to be unleashed.

Baishi wasted no words. He formed a hand seal with his left hand, his movements a blur.

"Lightning Release: Shadow Clone!"

He squeezed out the last two drops of chakra in his body, splitting them into three. Two lightning clones, one on each side, stepped on the shattered stones and charged furiously towards Obito, clutching Explosive Tags.

"Boring trick." Obito didn't even bother to dodge, letting the two clones rush in front of him.

Kamui phased through him.

The clones passed through Obito's body, and the Explosive Tags detonated.

But this wasn't meant to attack.

What Baishi wanted was only the blinding light and the 0.5-second visual obstruction caused by the explosion!

Under the cover of the explosion's firelight, Baishi, dragging his broken body, walked step by step in front of Kushina.

He stood with his back to her.

His left hand hung by his side.

"System, convert this simulated body's lifespan, soul, and everything else into Lightning Release chakra."

Baishi commanded coldly in his heart.

The next second, every cell in his body began to collapse. Bones, muscles, internal organs, all turned into the purest energy fuel.

Blue-white lightning erupted from his pores.

The piercing sound of Chidori even drowned out the Nine-Tails' roar!

Kushina struggled to open her eyes.

In her vision, the dim silhouette was completely engulfed in lightning.

He had lost an arm. There was a fist-sized bloody hole in his chest.

But he stood straight.

Like a wall that would never fall, blocking all destruction and despair from her world.

"No..." Kushina's fingers clawed into the bluestone floor, drawing blood, her voice raspy to the point of breaking. "You'll die... I beg you, stop..."

Obito emerged from the smoke and dust, looking at Baishi, who stood like a god of thunder descended to earth. For the first time, the gaze beneath his mask flickered.

"A life for a life? Utterly foolish."

Obito swung his right hand down violently.

The Nine-Tails tilted its head back, and the black-purple Tailed Beast Bomb, compressed to its absolute limit, transformed into a beam of destructive energy, blasting straight toward Baishi and Kushina!

Wherever the beam passed, the rock instantly vaporized.

The intense heat distorted the air, leaving nothing in the world but this world-ending black-purple light.

Baishi did not retreat.

He thrust his left hand forward, fingers splayed wide.

His max-level Lightning Release chakra poured out without reservation, forming a hemispherical lightning shield.

BOOM—!!!

The energy beam of the Tailed Beast Bomb slammed viciously into the lightning shield.

Two diametrically opposed energies clashed in a frenzied struggle.

The blinding glare instantly robbed everyone of their sight.

A massive shockwave expanded in a ring, uprooting the surrounding forest.

The moment of contact caused Baishi's left hand to begin carbonizing.

His skin scorched and his muscles melted away, exposing the stark white bone beneath.

Yet, he gritted his teeth, pulling his left leg back half a step, his military boots gouging two deep pits into the ground.

"Hold... the line!"

A roar that sounded barely human tore from Baishi's throat.

The lightning flared violently, actually forcing the black-purple energy beam to a standstill in mid-air!

But a mortal body has its limits.

Baishi's left side began to shatter inch by inch. His blood evaporated from the intense heat before it could even flow.

His mask cracked under the energy impact, ready to crumble at any moment.

Just as he was about to reach his breaking point.

Four pillars of red light rose from the four cardinal directions outside the cave, piercing the heavens.

The pillars converged rapidly in mid-air, forming a massive dark-red barrier.

Four Red Yang Formation.

The Konoha high-command's barrier squad had arrived.

But this was no salvation.

Once the barrier closed completely, everything inside would be sealed off. Whether it was the rampaging Nine-Tails, the heavily wounded Kushina, or the dying Baishi, all would become funeral offerings within the barrier.

At this moment, the Tailed Beast Bomb continued to pour out its energy, and the bones in Baishi's left hand had completely pulverized.

The gap at the top of the barrier was less than a meter wide.

Baishi turned his head, the cracks on his mask shattering completely to reveal eyes that were blood-stained yet unnervingly calm.

He looked at Kushina on the ground, a tragic, twisted smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Obito's palm pressed against Kushina's lower abdomen without resistance. His Sharingan spun wildly, his ocular power piercing the eye of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style like a sharp blade.

"Release!"

BOOM—!

A storm of red chakra, like materialized magma, erupted indiscriminately from the birthing bed. The energy, filled with extreme malice, destruction, and violence, instantly shattered the constraints of the cave.

The stone ceiling could not withstand the terrifying energy impact and collapsed with a roar. Hundreds of tons of boulders crashed onto the bluestone floor, only to be ground into fine powder by the high-density chakra before they even landed. The air was instantly filled with the acrid stench of burning high-concentration chakra, choking the breath from one's lungs.

"Ah—!"

Kushina let out a scream of absolute agony. Her life force drained away like a dried-up spring, flowing rapidly from her body. She fell from mid-air like a ragdoll, slamming heavily onto the cold ground. Her signature, vibrant red hair turned dry and dull within a few breaths, losing all its luster.

Extreme weakness left her unable to move even a finger, and she could only watch in despair as the terrifying giant beast took shape in the air.

"ROAR—!"

Amidst the ear-shattering roar, nine massive tails danced wildly through the rubble and smoke. The Nine-Tails had been forcibly extracted!

The violent pressure felt like a physical mountain, making the air grow thick and viscous. Baishi leaned against the shattered rock wall, the bloody hole in his chest—pierced by the Yin-Yang Release Black Rod—continuing to bubble with bloodied foam as he gasped for air.

Pain. His nerve endings were screaming in alarm.

But the eyes beneath the mask were as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice.

Namikaze Minato was not here. This was the greatest blunder of the original protagonist, and Baishi's most perfect stage.

Obito stood at the center of the gale, his black cloak whipping in the wind. He looked up, the three tomoe in his right eye spinning frantically, instantly connecting into the eerie pattern of the Mangekyo.

In mid-air, the Nine-Tails' vertical pupils, filled with ferocity, suddenly froze, instantly reflecting the shape of the Mangekyo. The arrogant Tailed Beast, at this moment, was reduced to a puppet controlled by others.

"A perfect weapon." Obito's cold gaze swept over Kushina on the ground, finally landing on Baishi, who was dying in the corner. "Now, take your Will of Fire and go to hell."

The Nine-Tails opened its abyss-like maw. Chakra points of Yin and Yang frantically gathered within its mouth. Red and blue intertwined, compressed and collapsed at an extremely terrifying two-to-eight ratio.

The surrounding air was instantly sucked dry, forming a visible vacuum vortex. The high-density energy caused the space itself to produce distorted ripples.

A black-purple Tailed Beast Bomb, with a diameter exceeding five meters, was taking shape!

The destructive pressure made Kushina almost suffocate. She struggled to turn her eyeballs, looking at the ANBU member with one arm severed, nailed to the wall.

"Go quickly..." she whispered, her lips trembling, her voice hoarse to the point only she could hear. She knew she wouldn't survive; a Jinchuriki whose Tailed Beast was extracted was certain to die. But she didn't want to see this man, who had given his all to save her, utterly annihilated.

Baishi ignored her plea.

Leave? How could I possibly leave?

The rules of the Simulator were fair. To hijack Minato's core destiny, to make this woman with the Nine-Tails' power go mad for him in reality, this price was far from enough.

I must push the sense of tragedy to the limit!

Baishi suddenly bit his tongue. The intense pain pierced his brain like a steel needle, forcibly awakening his nearly stalled nerves.

He extended his remaining left hand, gripping the black Receiver stuck in his chest tightly. His fingers exerted force, his knuckles cracking from the excessive strain.

"Tch--!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he forcefully pulled the barbed black Receiver out of his flesh and bone!

Scalding blood instantly splattered on his tattered mask. The barbs tore through muscle and blood vessels, yet Baishi didn't even grunt. Using the momentum from pulling out the Receiver, he staggered to his feet.

Blood dripped down his pant legs, pooling on the ground into a shocking crimson puddle.

Obito watched Baishi stand up, a hint of mockery flashing in his single eye beneath the mask. "Still not giving up? No matter how much a mortal struggles, they cannot cross this chasm."

The Tailed Beast Bomb in the Nine-Tails' mouth had completely formed, its destructive light poised to unleash.

Baishi took a deep breath, the strong smell of blood and burnt flesh filling his lungs.

"System, convert this simulation body's lifespan, soul, everything, entirely into Lightning Release chakra," he commanded coldly in his heart.

Since it's a disposable item, let's burn it all.

The instant the command was issued, every cell in Baishi's body began to collapse. Bones, muscles, internal organs, all transformed into the purest energy fuel.

Boom!

Blue and white lightning erupted from his pores. The piercing sound of a thousand Chidori chirping actually managed to drown out the Nine-Tails' roar at this moment!

The violent Lightning Release chakra formed a dazzling halo of light around Baishi's body. The wound on his severed right shoulder was instantly cauterized and stopped bleeding by the high temperature.

Kushina stared blankly at the figure completely engulfed in lightning.

He had lost an arm. There was a fist-sized bloody hole in his chest. But he stood straight. Like a wall that would never fall, blocking all destruction and despair from her world.

Obito violently swung his right hand down.

The Nine-Tails raised its head, and the black-purple Tailed Beast Bomb, compressed to its absolute limit, transformed into a destructive energy beam and shot towards Baishi and Kushina!

Where the beam passed, rocks instantly vaporized. The high temperature distorted the air, leaving only this world-destroying black-purple in the entire field of vision.

There's no escape. This power is enough to level an entire mountainside.

Baishi had no intention of escaping. He stomped his left foot down, shattering the ground, and pushed his left hand forward, fingers spread.

Full-level Lightning Release chakra poured out without reservation, forming a hemispherical lightning shield in front of him.

Boom--!!!

The energy beam of the Tailed Beast Bomb fiercely collided with the lightning shield.

Two completely different energies furiously clashed. Blinding light instantly stripped everyone of their vision. A massive shockwave spread in a ring, uprooting the remaining rock walls and grinding them into powder.

"Ugh--!"

Baishi let out a beast-like roar from his throat. His left hand began to carbonize the moment of contact. His skin was scorched, his muscles melted, revealing bone-white bones.

The extreme heat spread along his left arm, and his left side began to crack inch by inch. Blood that hadn't yet flowed out was vaporized into mist.

The pain had numbed. What supported him standing here was only the cold, resolute obsession to hijack the destiny.

He gritted his teeth tightly, stepping his left leg back half a step, his military boots plowing two deep furrows in the ground.

"Hold it for me...!"

The lightning frantically surged, forcibly holding the black-purple energy beam in mid-air!

A mortal body, resisting the Tailed Beast Bomb!

Obito's single eye contracted sharply. This ANBU member, whose name he didn't even know, had actually blocked the Nine-Tails' attack?

But this was the limit.

Baishi's mask cracked with countless fissures under the energy impact, threatening to shatter at any moment. His vital signs were visibly dropping to zero.

Just as he was about to collapse, an unexpected change occurred.

From the four directions outside the cave, four pillars of light, reaching into the heavens, suddenly rose. The pillars quickly converged in mid-air, forming a massive, dark red barrier.

Four Red Yang Formation!

The barrier squad from Konoha's high command had finally arrived.

But this was by no means a salvation. Once the barrier closed completely, everything inside would be sealed off. Whether it was the rampaging Nine-Tails, the severely wounded Kushina, or the dying Baishi, all would be reduced to funeral offerings within the barrier.

The energy of the Tailed Beast Bomb continued to output, and the bones in Baishi's left hand were already covered in cracks. The gap at the top of the barrier was less than a meter wide.

He had only one second left.

Baishi turned his head.

Crack—

Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, the ANBU mask on his face exploded, revealing a face stained with blood, pale yet unnervingly calm.

His black eyes pierced through the blinding lightning and chakra storm, landing accurately on Kushina, who lay on the ground.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, curling into a smile of extreme, tragic intensity.

Kushina's heart skipped a beat. She looked at that face, at that smile, and a premonition more terrifying than death instantly seized her soul.

"Don't..." She shook her head desperately, tears sliding down through the dust.

Baishi did not speak; his only remaining left arm suddenly withdrew from its defensive stance, allowing the destructive light of the Tailed Beast Bomb to swallow him whole. Yet, using the momentum of that final withdrawal, his body lunged fiercely toward Kushina!