Perishing Together with the Nine-Tails and the Simulator's Generous Settlement

The dim blue system panel flickered wildly in the dark underground safehouse, streams of data cascading like a waterfall before finally freezing into a blinding dark gold.

The cold mechanical voice echoed through Baishi's mind, making his eardrums buzz.

[Detected that the host forcibly intervened in the core event of the 'Night of the Nine-Tails' during the simulation, successfully changing the fates of 'Namikaze Minato,' 'Uzumaki Kushina,' and 'Uchiha Obito.']

[Fortune Interception Rating: SSS-Rank (unprecedented)!]

[Bond Plunder Rating: SSS-Rank (soul imprint)!]

Baishi leaned against the damp, cold rock wall. The moldy smell of underground soil mixed with the sour stench of his sweat, rushing into his nostrils. He panted heavily, his chest heaving violently, yet his black eyes gleamed with a terrifying brightness.

"SSS-Rank..."

He quietly savored the word, the corners of his mouth pulling into a crazed grin.

Using the life of a Simulated Body to withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb and force an extreme one-for-one exchange. This deal was an absolute steal!

Namikaze Minato, the heroic script where you saved the damsel had been torn to shreds by me. Your perfect fiancée now had nothing but the image of me burning to ashes buried deep within her soul. That guilt and obsession would destroy her reason like poison, turning her completely into a pawn under my control!

[Settlement complete! The host may select any two of the following three SSS-Rank rewards for extraction:]

Following the system prompt, three spheres of light wrapped in dark golden radiance slowly emerged from the void and hovered before Baishi. Each light sphere emitted a terrifying aura powerful enough to shake the entire Shinobi World.

Baishi stared fixedly at the first sphere.

A dark red glow flickered through the underground chamber. Within the sphere, countless phantoms of tiny blood vessels and meridians pulsed like living creatures, radiating an incomparably vast vitality.

[Reward One: Uzumaki Clan Sage Body (Incomplete Version)]

[Description: Supreme life force originating from the Asura bloodline. Forcibly breaks the host's Gene Lock, granting immense physical vitality, regenerative power, and an enormous Chakra reserve. Note: Extraction will deeply restructure the host's existing cells.]

Baishi's breathing abruptly stopped for an instant, his heart hammering wildly in his chest.

A Sage Body!

The foundation of every top-tier power in the Shinobi World!

Without this thing, the Sharingan would suck a person dry, and forbidden techniques would tear their body to pieces. In a world where a single Explosive Tag could kill a Kage Level expert, having a massive health bar was what truly mattered. With a Sage Body, he would finally have a ticket into the club of top-tier powerhouses.

His gaze shifted to the second sphere, which radiated an icy silver-blue light. Countless complex black technique coordinates could vaguely be seen appearing and vanishing within it, carrying a sharpness that seemed capable of severing spatial distance.

[Reward Two: Space-Time Ninjutsu Talent (Namikaze Minato Level) and Massive Chakra Infusion]

[Description: Obtained by intercepting the core fortune of the child of destiny. Grants the host absolute sensitivity toward spatial dimensions, along with the extreme Chakra reserves remaining from the Night of the Nine-Tails Simulated Body.]

The smile beneath Baishi's mask deepened.

The Flying Thunder God Technique was not something just anyone could learn. In all of Konoha, aside from the Second Hokage, only Namikaze Minato had mastered it. It required freakish perception of spatial dimensions. Now, that perception, along with an enormous amount of Chakra, had been delivered straight to him as a package deal.

The third sphere was crimson as blood.

Within it, the phantom of a black Mangekyō Sharingan slowly rotated. Merely staring at it made Baishi feel as though his vision were being forcibly twisted into dizziness.

[Reward Three: Mangekyō Sharingan: Kamui (Right Eye)]

[Description: The same space-based ocular technique used by Uchiha Obito. Note: Transplanting it into a non-Uchiha bloodline will produce extreme rejection. Each use will irreversibly consume lifespan and eyesight.]

Baishi stared at the crimson eyeball, instinctive greed flashing through his eyes.

Kamui's ability to preserve one's life was arguably the greatest in the Shinobi World. Its intangibility mechanism was practically an unsolvable defense.

But that greed survived for only half a second before the extreme rationality buried in his bones ruthlessly crushed it.

"Without Hashirama Cells to suppress the rejection, this eye is a death warrant." Baishi sneered. "I don't want to be like Kakashi, lying in a hospital for half a month after using two techniques. Fools devoured by their own power never live to see the end."

Without any hesitation, Baishi issued the command in his mind.

"System, I choose one and two!"

[Ding! Selection confirmed.]

[Reward distribution in progress... Warning! Fusion with the 'Uzumaki Clan Sage Body' will violently restructure every cell in the host's body. The process will involve pain surpassing dismemberment. Please take protective measures.]

Baishi swiftly removed his black bodysuit, soaked through with cold sweat, revealing a lean upper body covered in old knife scars.

He pulled out a hard Kunai handle from his Ninja Tool Pouch, placed it crosswise in his mouth, and bit down hard. Then, he rapidly formed hand seals and created two Shadow Clones to guard the safehouse entrance.

If anyone barges in during the modification process, immediately detonate the five hundred Explosive Tags buried in the walls, Baishi gave the Shadow Clones a death order.

He would rather be blown to pieces than fall into Danzo's Root.

After finishing everything, he closed his eyes and welcomed the coming storm.

"Come on."

At the same time. Konoha Village Center, Namikaze Minato's Residence.

Cold moonlight filtered through the paper windows, casting pale shadows across the floor. Because of an emergency ANBU shift rotation, Namikaze Minato had not returned home that night. Kushina was the only one curled beneath the silk quilt on the wide bed.

The red-haired woman's previously steady breathing suddenly faltered as her brows twisted into a knot of agony.

Large beads of cold sweat instantly seeped from her forehead, soaking through her nightclothes.

Deep in her mind, a despairing memory that did not belong to reality was forcibly tearing apart her dream with overwhelming force.

The Dark Red Four Red Yang Formation... the rampaging Nine-Tails... the world-destroying black Tailed Beast Bomb...

In the dream, Kushina felt both hands pressed tightly against the scorching barrier. The sizzling sound of her flesh burning grew infinitely louder beside her ears, while the stench of charred flesh rushed into her head.

She desperately tried to grab the man inside the barrier, but all she caught was a handful of black ashes.

That shattered figure, turning into ash beneath the blazing fire yet still offering her a gentle smile through the barrier, was engraved with unbearable clarity upon her retinas.

"Live well. For both of us."

Those soundless final words were like a red-hot blade stabbing viciously through Kushina's heart!

The suffocating guilt and agony of losing someone dear instantly shredded her reason.

"NO—!!!"

A heart-rending scream suddenly erupted through the silent bedroom.

Kushina abruptly opened her eyes. Her once-clear pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints, while the whites of her eyes were completely flooded by savage crimson!

Her fingers curled into claws and dug deeply into the tatami. Wood splinters pierced her fingertips and blood spilled out, but she felt none of it.

"Baishi... Baishi!"

A beast-like roar tore from her throat, tears mixed with bloody streaks spilling from her eyes.

BOOM!

An incomparably evil and violent surge of Dark Red Chakra erupted like an exploding volcano, violently bursting through the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style on her abdomen! The tangible Chakra storm instantly tore apart the bed and hurled the entire bedroom roof violently into the sky!