Despair from Memories and the Uncontrolled Rampage of Nine-Tails Chakra

"That is... a space-time coordinate?" Namikaze Minato's azure pupils contracted violently, his breathing coming to a complete standstill at that very moment.

Within his mental space, that Flying Thunder God formula branded onto the edge of the memory image pierced his optic nerves like a red-hot steel needle. The distorted curvature, the precise arrangement of chakra—it was not a mark he had ever left behind!

How could Baishi know the Flying Thunder God? How could a low-level ANBU cannon fodder, in the desperate straits of the Nine-Tails' rampage, use his life to block a Tailed Beast Bomb?!

"Ah--!"

A shrill, mournful cry forcibly pulled Minato back from his shock.

Outside the barrier, Kushina knelt in the scalding puddles, her hands clawing desperately at the ground. Her fingernails had curled back and snapped from the sheer force, and blood mixed with muddy water to stain her skirt. "He's dead... Baishi is dead! He died to save me..."

Deep within the massive cage, the Nine-Tails' colossal form flickered in and out of view, its scarlet vertical pupils gleaming with cruel pleasure. "Heh heh heh... Namikaze Minato, look at your woman's soul! There is no place left for you in there!"

The materialized malice transformed into a dark red storm, laced with the stench of fox musk and blood, slamming ruthlessly against Minato's spiritual body.

"Kushina, look at me!" Minato stepped forward against the scorching storm, his voice trembling. "That's a lie! Baishi is still alive; he was only discharged from the hospital three days ago!"

Kushina whipped her head around.

Those eyes, once clear, were now completely replaced by dark red fox pupils, and two shocking trails of blood-tears streamed down her cheeks. She looked at Minato, her gaze devoid of any past love or dependence, leaving only extreme resentment and despair.

"You lied to me!" She gritted her teeth, her voice sounding like a demon crawling from the depths of hell. "Why didn't you save him? Why weren't you there?! The Yellow Flash of Konoha... you're not even as good as an ANBU!"

This sentence was like a poisoned kunai, stabbing precisely and cruelly into Minato's heart. The speed he took such pride in, the bonds he had fought with all his might to protect, were torn to shreds by this single accusation.

BOOM!

An overwhelming, crushing force of repulsion erupted from the depths of Kushina's soul.

"Pfft!"

In the ruins of reality, Minato spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a kite with a broken string before slamming heavily into a shattered stone pillar. The formula on his right hand, used to undo the seal, was forcibly burned away; the flesh on his palm was charred black, emitting a pungent smell of scorched meat.

"Lord Minato!" several peripheral ANBU shouted in terror, attempting to rush forward to help.

"Don't come over! Fall back!" Minato clutched his chest, ignoring the blood at the corner of his mouth, and barked a sharp command.

It was too late.

At the center of the ruined ANBU base, Kushina tilted her head back and let out a shrill roar that did not belong to a human.

The dark red chakra on her body boiled instantly, and the three tails she had previously manifested whipped wildly in the gale. Then, accompanied by the hair-raising sound of tearing flesh, a fourth tail burst forth!

The high-density chakra completely distorted the surrounding light, and the air temperature soared. The puddles on the ground evaporated instantly, releasing a thick, foul stench of sulfur mixed with blood. Pale white bones began to emerge over the dark red chakra cloak, traveling up along her spine until they encased her head, forming a hideous fox skull.

Four-Tails state! Deep, full-blown partial Tailed Beast transformation!

One kilometer away, atop a towering treetop.

Baishi faced the scorching hot wind, his eyes beneath the mask watching everything coldly. The enhanced vision granted by the Uzumaki Sage Body allowed him to clearly capture the gray despair in the depths of Minato's eyes.

"Killing the person and destroying their heart." A cruel curve touched the corner of Baishi's mouth.

He knew all too well the lethality of that "memory." Minato was a perfectionist; he could accept defeat, he could accept death, but he could never accept that the lover he had fought to protect would, in the deepest recesses of her soul, completely reject him because of another man's "death."

The protagonist's destiny and Dao heart were crumbling bit by bit in this ultimate Shura field.

Baishi raised his hand and looked at his newly regenerated left arm. It not only possessed surging vitality but also concealed the top-tier space-time talent plundered from Minato.

"This is only the beginning, Minato." Baishi tightened his fox mask, hiding the ambition in his eyes. "The life you owe me, I will take back bit by bit, with interest."

His figure flashed, transforming into an imperceptible streak of lightning as he darted toward the edge of the ANBU base. The timing was perfect; he couldn't let Kushina actually tear Konoha apart, as that would draw out too many uncontrollable old monsters. He had to close the net in the most "shocking" way possible.

At this moment, outside the ANBU ruins, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, finally arrived with a large group of elites.

"Hiruzen, is this what you meant by 'under control'?" Danzo emerged from the shadows, leaning on his cane, his remaining eye filled with gloom and greed. "The Jinchuriki has completely lost control. We must immediately use Root to suppress her and re-apply the Cursed Seal of Tongue Eradication!"

"Shut up!" Sarutobi Hiruzen bit down on his pipe, his face ashen.

Kushina, in her Four-Tails state, could no longer distinguish friend from foe. Her hollow fox-skull eye sockets were fixed on the direction of the Hokage Building. That was the center of Konoha's power, and the source of all those "suicide missions."

In her subconscious, it was the high-ranking officials of Konoha, this cold system, that had schemed time and again, ultimately killing the only man willing to risk his life to protect her!

"Destroyed... everything destroyed..." A hoarse, raspy sound squeezed out from between the bones, carrying a paranoia that sought to destroy everything.

Kushina opened her fang-filled mouth. Yin and Yang chakra gathered frantically in a 2:8 ratio. A black sphere, only the size of a fist but radiating a pressure that made every Kage-level powerhouse present shudder, formed rapidly before her mouth.

Tailed Beast Bomb!

"No! She's going to level the Hokage Building!" Sarutobi Hiruzen was horrified, his pipe even falling to the ground. "Barrier Team! Deploy the Four Violet Flames Formation immediately!"

"It's too late!" Minato endured the agonizing pain of his torn internal organs, forcibly squeezing out chakra as he attempted to trigger the Flying Thunder God once more to teleport this lethal Tailed Beast Bomb away.

Just one second before the black sphere was about to be fired.

An extremely sharp bird-like screech instantly tore through the chaos of the battlefield.

Blue-white lightning pierced out from the shadows of the ruins like an aurora. It was a highly condensed Lightning Release Chidori Sharp Spear; without a single wasted movement, it struck true, severing the trajectory of the chakra gathering in front of Kushina!

"Zzzzt!"

The balance of the Tailed Beast Bomb was violently broken, exploding directly in mid-air into a blinding flash of light. The terrifying shockwave sent dozens of elite ANBU and nearby trees flying.

Amidst the rolling dust and smoke, a figure wearing a tattered ANBU uniform and a half-shattered fox mask slowly stepped out from the shadows.

He held a short blade crackling with lightning in a reverse grip, and a deep, bone-exposed fake wound still lingered on his collarbone. Blood dripped from his fingertips onto the charred earth, making a faint "drip-drop" sound.

The entire scene fell into a deathly silence.

The Third Hokage froze, Danzo's single eye narrowed sharply, and Namikaze Minato's pupils contracted to pinpricks as he stared fixedly at that familiar figure.

As for the rampaging Four-Tails Kushina, upon seeing that familiar half-profile, the violent chakra on her body suddenly stalled. The hideous fox skull tilted slightly, and a trace of human-like astonishment and ecstasy flickered in her hollow eye sockets.

Baishi ignored the gazes of the hundreds of ANBU and the Hokage, his eyes piercing straight into Kushina's dark-red-filled pupils. He showed no fear, instead taking a step forward, his tone cold and carrying an unquestionable command:

"Have you had enough? I'm not dead yet, so what are you going crazy for?"