With three superpowers at his fingertips, he could dominate the 1970s.

Across the sea, at the foot of the "sacred mountain," lies a secluded courtyard.

The heads of several prominent families are here today, and their faces are all grim.

Ichiro Koizumi sat in the main seat, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table. He looked around at everyone present and spoke first.

"You've all been having a tough time lately, haven't you?"

No one responded, but everyone's face clearly showed that they were really unlucky.

Sato Genichi picked up his teacup, took a sip, and set it down with a crisp sound as the bottom of the cup tapped against the table.

"Koizumi-kun is right. Our Sato family has experienced three strange incidents this month: the cargo ship inexplicably stalled in the port, the medicinal herbs in the warehouse became damp and moldy, and even my grandson's birthday banquet was marred by three days of rain."

Inoue Kazuki snorted coldly. His family had suffered even greater losses, but this was not the time to compare misfortunes.

The elder of Tsuchimikado sat at the lower end of the table, fine beads of sweat already forming on his forehead. He could sense that today's meeting would not go well.

"Elder," Koizumi Ichiro turned his gaze, "is there something your Tsuchimikado clan is hiding from us lately?"

The elder stiffened and quickly forced a smile.

"Master Koizumi is joking. What could we possibly be hiding from you all?"

"That's good," Koizumi Ichiro said calmly, but his eyes turned cold. "The recent misfortunes plaguing our five great families are no accident. If it's related to your site selection, you'd better clarify that now."

The elder was sweating even more. He wiped his forehead and looked away.

The second elder quickly responded, his voice very low.

"There's a problem inside the gate; things haven't been peaceful on this branch lately."

"What's the problem?" Sato Genichi pressed.

"The mountain spring had dried up, and loose rocks kept sliding down the cliff face. We conducted repeated surveys, and finally had no choice but to dig through the rock strata to investigate." The Second Elder paused here, his voice even softer, "and we found the Pulse-Suppressing Nail."

The moment those three words were uttered, the entire room fell silent.

It was so quiet that you could hear the rustling of bamboo leaves in the wind in the courtyard.

Ichiro Koizumi sat up abruptly, his fingers hovering over the table.

"What did you say? A pulse-suppressing nail? Where did it come from?"

Everyone in Tsuchimikado lowered their heads, and no one dared to meet his gaze.

The heads of the various families exchanged glances, their faces darkening. Since they still wouldn't reveal the reason at this point, Sato Genichi smashed his teacup.

With a "bang," tea splashed all over the table, waking everyone up.

The elder trembled and spoke haltingly.

"These are the batches we specially ordered for Mount Tai in China."

After he said that, the room became eerily quiet.

The five major families, along with the members of the Tsuchimikado clan, remained silent. The atmosphere was tense for a long time, so long that the Grand Elder's sweat had dripped onto his collar.

Sato Genichi finally broke the silence, his voice low, but each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Weren't those Pulse-Suppressing Nails sent to China by your assassins? Why are they appearing in a branch of our sacred mountain?"

The elder stammered, his lips moving several times, but he couldn't get a straight answer.

The second elder added cautiously.

"We did send assassins to China, but none of them returned. We assumed they either failed in their mission or were captured after completing it, so we didn't think much of it."

He paused, then his voice became even softer.

"Moreover, one of the pulse-suppressing nails is missing, which means that China not only knows we did it, but also has evidence."

Sato Genichi slammed his hand on the table, and the teacup jumped up.

"In other words, you tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead! We entrusted you with such an important task, and not only did you fail to complete it, you even let them drive the nail back into their own territory! This is a branch of the sacred mountain; are you capable of handling this?"

The atmosphere in the room became even more oppressive.

Sato Genichi took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.

"Speak, what other worse situation could there be that you're still hiding it like this? Now that you've discovered it, just pull it out and minimize the pollution and harm."

The Third Elder then stammered and began to speak.

"They've driven the steel nails extremely deep, and it's been like this for six months. The resentment has seeped in. If we forcefully dig, it will tear the mountain apart and cause irreparable consequences."

The elder then stood up and bowed deeply to everyone.

"I am guilty for not noticing the Pulse-Suppressing Nails in time, and the way they were driven in was extremely tricky. The nails are stuck very deep; if we don't dig them out, they will continue to corrode the mountain and the groundwater. Forcibly digging them out will either tear the mountain apart or cause a landslide. We are in a very difficult position regarding both outcomes, which is why we asked the heads of the various clans to come and discuss this together. It has already caused very serious consequences."

"Are we just supposed to swallow this humiliation ourselves?"

The room was quiet; no one responded.

Inoue Kazuki was someone who loved stirring up trouble. His family had suffered the least damage during the port robbery, and currently, they were the only family whose strength remained relatively intact. He spoke sarcastically.

"This is your own problem. You made the nails yourselves, and now someone else has nailed them onto your door. You have to make up for this loss yourselves. Who came up with this terrible idea in the first place?"

Everyone turned to look at Sato Genichi.

Sato Genichi slammed the thing in his hand onto the table with a "thud".

"Why are you looking at me? It was my suggestion, that's true, and it passed unanimously. What, are you trying to shift the blame onto me now? Weren't you so excited at the time, thinking my idea was brilliant? Now that things have gone wrong, you want to shirk responsibility? Humph! No way. Since there's been a loss, we should all share the burden. We should choose the lesser of two evils, and stop trying to shirk responsibility. Either keep it buried underground, or dig it up; you can compare the damage of those two options."

The elder spoke haltingly.

"Regardless of the type of damage, the nails must be removed. They've been seeping in continuously. Even if digging now causes problems like the mountain fracturing, once removed, there won't be any further issues. If these nails aren't removed, the subsequent problems are unimaginable and unpredictable."

An old man slammed his hand on the table.

"China has gone too far! I will immediately terminate all trade relations with China!"

Everyone looked at him, but no one paid him any attention.

At this time, all the families were heavily indebted, making it far from the best opportunity to offend China. Moreover, China's demand was greater, and its market was larger. Besides, ultimately, this whole affair was a case of trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice instead.

Seeing that no one was agreeing with him, the old man's face turned pale and then red. He knew the situation; this was something he had to swallow his pride and bear, and it hurt him from all sides.

After another discussion, the group decided that the First Elder and the Second Elder would go together to dig out the Pulse-Suppressing Nail.

……

The result can be imagined.

The stabilizing nail has been removed, but the ley lines of this sacred mountain are almost completely destroyed. The mountain springs have completely dried up, the rubble from the cliffs has slid down in small-scale landslides, the moss in the courtyard has turned yellow overnight, and even the stone pillars have cracked. Only the passage of time can restore it completely.

Everyone hated China to the core, but there was no suitable opportunity to retaliate.

Koizumi Ichiro looked at the scene and muttered to himself, "How did they manage to sneak in and drive the nails in so quietly? And without alerting anyone?"

The crowd belatedly realized the problem, and a chill ran down their spines.

When did China produce such a person?

The room was eerily quiet, and a lingering shadow hung over everyone's hearts.