"You've gotta be kidding me!!!"
Were these Cloud ninja out of their minds?!
The war hadn't even escalated yet—
and they were already firing a Tailed Beast Bomb?!
Absolutely shameless!
The massive sphere of destruction was already hurtling toward them at terrifying speed.
If he threw a kunai and used the Substitution Technique to escape—
Nawaki and Mushihime would die here.
He didn't have time to take them with him.
But if he tried to take them—
there wasn't enough time to set up a substitution.
If he wanted to bring them along—
there was only one place he could go…
The Tailed Beast Bomb didn't give him time to think.
No hesitation left.
"MOVE!!!"
Akira lunged toward Nawaki and Mushihime—
—and at that exact moment—
the Tailed Beast Bomb struck the mountain.
"BOOOOM!!!"
A blinding explosion erupted.
Every ninja on the mountain looked up—
recognizing instantly what it was.
The most dangerous weapon in the ninja world—
the ultimate power of a jinchūriki.
Despair filled their faces.
The blast radius—
was impossible to escape.
White light engulfed everything.
Bodies—
vanished into nothingness.
"…Phew."
Akira exhaled lightly.
The moment he landed—
he leveled up.
[Name: I Am Xiao Ming]
[Class: Hunter]
[Sub-class: Medic]
[Level: 41 (0 / 37,500)]
[Chakra/Nen: 10,110 / 8,110 + 1,000 + 500 + 500]
[Essence: 6,000]
Fully restored—
only then did he look around.
Cloud ninja.
Everywhere.
All eyes locked onto the three of them.
"…Big bro," Nawaki forced a stiff smile.
"Maybe… I don't actually need to fight that badly."
He did want to fight—
just not against this many enemies!
And who knew how many jonin were in this crowd?!
"Listen carefully, Nawaki. Mushihime."
Akira formed a black blade in one hand—
a glowing blue sphere in the other.
"Stay exactly where you are."
"Don't move."
"Or I won't be able to protect you."
The Cloud ninja didn't know who they were—
but the Konoha headbands were enough.
Grins spread across their faces.
"Three brats?"
"Hahaha! Konoha kids, come experience our power!"
"Wait… how did they even get here?"
Some frowned, sensing something off.
Akira, however—
just grinned wider.
"Awakening Skill—"
"Game Instance!"
A blue wave expanded outward instantly—
engulfing everyone.
The mountains vanished.
Replaced by—
an endless desert.
"Welcome… to my world."
"This instance has three factions."
"First—Player. That's me alone."
"Second—Monsters. That's all of you."
"Third—NPCs. That's my teammates."
Akira spoke rapidly, finishing the rules before anyone could react.
The moment he finished—
white lights appeared beneath everyone's feet.
They were scattered apart.
Only then did Akira relax slightly.
Before the rules were declared—
they could attack him.
They'd just missed their best chance.
The kunai he could swap with—
were already among them.
A moment of hesitation earlier—
had forced him into facing all of them at once.
This wasn't just a handful of enemies.
There were over a hundred.
And if another Tailed Beast Bomb came from outside—
his skill wouldn't save him.
He'd be finished.
No choice now.
He had to push through.
"NPC rules—"
"Within your zone is an absolute safe area."
"Neither I nor the monsters can use force there."
A glowing barrier surrounded Nawaki and Mushihime.
"And I cannot harm NPCs."
"But monsters can."
"If all NPCs die—"
"I lose."
"And I'll be erased by the instance."
As long as they stayed inside—
they were safe.
Step outside—
and they'd be attacked instantly.
"NPCs can transfer their power, chakra, and weapons to the player."
"To strengthen me."
"…Big bro," Nawaki asked hesitantly,
"Can we fight?"
Akira resisted the urge to smack him.
"I wish I could say no."
"But yes—you can."
"If you leave the safe zone."
He glared at him.
"So stay put!"
Nawaki shut his mouth.
No enemies earlier—
now surrounded—
and still no fighting allowed.
What kind of battlefield was this?!
"Then… take my share and fight!" Nawaki shouted, raising a fist.
"Me too!" Mushihime added quickly.
"Just don't make things worse."
Akira ignored their techniques—
but accepted their chakra.
He didn't need their jutsu.
He needed—
chakra.
A lot of it.
He glanced at his stats—
and froze.
Then slowly turned to Nawaki.
"…Is your chakra insane or what?"
Mushihime's contribution barely registered.
But Nawaki—
had just multiplied his total.
Tenfold.
The standard jonin had around 10,000 chakra.
"…Do I have that much?" Nawaki scratched his head.
"I've never really run out before…"
Akira stared at him, eyes filled with envy.
The Senju bloodline—
was ridiculous.
For a moment—
he even considered killing him for the drop.
Senju lineage—
was top-tier loot.
Nawaki suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
Weird.
In the middle of a blazing desert—
where did that cold wind come from?
Akira turned back to the Cloud ninja.
They were still testing the boundaries—
trying to attack.
But none of them could break the rules.
Desert terrain—
boosted Fire Release.
Not the best resource environment—
but still beneficial.
Akira grinned.
"Victory conditions are simple."
"I kill all of you—"
"or you kill me."
His grin turned savage.
With this absurd amount of chakra—
this was the richest fight he'd ever had.
"…Time to pull mobs."
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