Konoha: Superman template, the spoiled brat becomes strong.

"This is... my power!" Naruto felt the surging power within him, his heart filled with confidence and excitement.

He never imagined he possessed such power that he could defeat these enemies of unknown origin.

He straightened his chest.

Meanwhile, Sakura was anxiously searching for Naruto.

Thick fog obstructed her vision, and she could only determine Naruto's location by the faint sound and blurry figure.

She was filled with worry, afraid that Naruto was in danger, and she kept calling Naruto's name, hoping to get a response.

"Naruto! Where are you? Naruto!" Sakura's voice echoed through the thick fog, trembling with unease.

She ran forward recklessly, thorns tearing her sleeves and branches scratching her cheeks, but she didn't care at all. She had only one thought in her mind: to find Naruto.

Finally, after passing through a dense thicket of bushes, Sakura saw a glimmer of light.

It was a dazzling golden light, like a beacon in the darkness, guiding her forward.

She quickened her pace, her heart filled with hope. She knew it was Naruto!

However, just as Sakura was about to get close to the light source, a huge rune suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her way.

The runes emitted an eerie purple light, like a giant eye watching Sakura's every move.

A strange energy fluctuation permeated the air, making Sakura feel a pang of fear.

"What is this..." Sakura murmured, reaching out her hand to tentatively touch the rune.

Chapter 116 Sealing Technique of Sunagakure

The moment her fingertips touched the rune, a strong electric current surged through Sakura's entire body, and the numbing sensation made her abruptly pull her hand back.

The surface of the runes flowed with an eerie purple light, and the complex patterns writhed like living things, sending chills down one's spine.

She tried to mobilize her chakra, but found that the surrounding air seemed to freeze, and the flow of her own chakra became abnormally slow.

"Damn it! What the hell is this thing!" Sakura gritted her teeth, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

The thick fog still lingered, obstructing visibility, and the surroundings were eerily silent, with only her rapid breathing echoing in the air.

Naruto's figure had long since disappeared, and fear and helplessness surged into her heart like a tide, almost suffocating her.

Just then, a deep voice suddenly rang out: "What are you doing?"

Sakura turned around abruptly and saw Kankuro appear behind her at some point, his signature black straw hat looking particularly sinister in the thick fog.

Kankuro's cold gaze swept over Sakura, finally settling on the runes in front of her.

"This is a sealing technique from Sunagakure. It seems that some brats from Konoha have also intruded here."

Sakura was startled and instinctively took a step back, staring warily at Kankuro.

Despite their brief collaboration before, she still felt inexplicable pressure facing this ruthless Sand Village ninja.

"What...what do you want to do?" Sakura asked, trying to remain calm.

Kankuro ignored Sakura's question and walked straight to the rune, forming hand seals and chanting incantations.

As he chanted his obscure incantation, the purple light on the runes gradually dimmed, the complex patterns stopped writhing, and finally disappeared completely.

Sakura stood frozen in place, unable to believe what was happening before her eyes.

Kankuro actually helped her break the seal?

This was completely unexpected for her.

After Kankuro broke the seal, he didn't say much. He just gave Sakura a cold look and then turned and walked into the depths of the thick fog.

"Wait!" Sakura called out to him instinctively, "Why are you helping me?"

Kankuro stopped, but didn't turn around. His deep voice echoed in the thick fog: "I just don't want your Konoha's troubles to affect our Sunagakure." After saying that, he disappeared into the fog without looking back.

Sakura stared in the direction where Kankuro had disappeared, her heart filled with doubt.

His words and actions were full of contradictions, making him impossible for her to understand.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps broke the silence from afar...

In the thick fog, the figures of Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru gradually became clear. Their expressions were different, clearly indicating that they had all experienced some hardships.

"Sakura! Are you alright?" Naruto saw Sakura as soon as he saw her and rushed to her side, looking her up and down anxiously.

"I'm fine." Sakura shook her head and briefly told everyone what had just happened, including Kankuro's appearance and strange behavior.

"The sealing technique of Sunagakure?" Shikamaru stroked his chin, his brows furrowed. "It seems things are more complicated than we thought."

As soon as he finished speaking, a rustling sound came from afar, and Temari, Gaara, and Maki appeared in front of everyone.

Gaara's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Sakura. His hoarse voice carried a hint of doubt: "Was that chakra fluctuation just now caused by you?"

Sakura nodded and recounted what had just happened.

“That seal…” Maki said gravely, “is used to suppress the ‘Earthly Grievance.’ Once it’s broken, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

"Earth Grudge?" Naruto scratched his head. "What's that?"

“An ancient, evil force,” Maki explained, “that is said to have the power to devour everything.”

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

Just then, Kakashi arrived at the scene.

He looked around and said in a deep voice, "It seems we're all involved in the same thing."

Kakashi connected the whole story with the appearance of Byakuya and deduced that someone was trying to break the seal of the earth's resentment, thus causing chaos.

"We must stop it!" Kakashi said firmly.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They followed Maki to the location of the seal, where a huge rune array flickered with an eerie light, and the surrounding air became distorted.

"The seal is about to be broken!" Maki said anxiously.

"Attack!" Kakashi gave the order, and everyone immediately sprang into action.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura form a team to attack the seal head-on; Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru are responsible for restraining the surrounding enemies; Gaara, Temari, and Baki are responsible for reinforcing the seal.

The battle was extremely fierce, with the evil power released from the seal constantly assaulting everyone's defenses.

Naruto's Rasengan, Sasuke's Chidori, and Sakura's superhuman strength—everyone's power was brought to its fullest potential.

Finally, with everyone's concerted efforts, a dazzling light burst forth from the seal, the evil power was completely suppressed, and the seal returned to peace.

The crowd cheered and celebrated their hard-won victory.

However, at that moment, Kakashi's gaze fell on a newly appeared mark on the ground.

It was a strangely shaped rune, emitting a faint black light...

“This is…” Kakashi reached out and touched the rune, his brow furrowing.

Chapter 117 The Mark of 'Earthly Grudge'

Kakashi withdrew his fingers, and a cold sensation came from his palm, as if he had touched a piece of ice.

He stood up and told everyone what he had discovered.

"I found a strange mark."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately gathered around.

Naruto curiously peered over, asking, "What mark? What does it look like?"

Kakashi opened his hand, revealing a black rune on his palm, shaped like a twisted spider, emitting a faint, eerie glow that looked particularly strange in the dim light.

"What is this?" Sakura frowned, feeling a little uneasy.

"It looks like a mark of some kind of sealing technique," Sasuke observed the runes carefully.

Shikamaru stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I have seen a similar pattern in my family's ancient books. It may be the mark of some ancient organization."

"An ancient organization?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

“That’s right,” Shikamaru explained. “It is said that a long time ago, there were many mysterious organizations in the ninja world. They possessed great power, but they disappeared for various reasons. This mark is very likely the symbol of one of these organizations.”

"Hmph, what a charade." Sasuke scoffed disdainfully. "I think this is just a trap set by the enemy to mislead us."

"Sasuke, don't jump to conclusions." Kakashi stopped Sasuke from speaking rashly. "Shikamaru's speculation is not without reason, and we must treat it with caution."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense, with Shikamaru and Sasuke refusing to back down, and a strong sense of tension filled the air between them.

"Whatever it is, we must proceed with caution," Kakashi said solemnly. "The appearance of this mark foreshadows a new crisis." He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "We must be prepared." With that, Kakashi turned his gaze into the distance, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"I..." Naruto suddenly began, but hesitated.

"I...I feel like I've seen this mark somewhere before!" Naruto finally said, scratching his golden hair, his brows furrowed, trying hard to remember.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Teacher Iruka! I remember now, Teacher Iruka seems to have mentioned a similar pattern before!"

A glimmer of hope shone in everyone's eyes.

Kakashi made a quick decision, "There's no time to lose, let's go find Iruka-sensei right away."

The group quickly headed to Iruka's residence.

When Kakashi showed Iruka the mark on his palm, Iruka's expression turned serious.

“This…this is the mark of ‘Earth Grudge’!” Iruka’s voice trembled slightly, as if he had recalled something terrible. “Earth Grudge is an ancient ninja organization. They are proficient in various sealing techniques and forbidden techniques, and they once stirred up a bloodbath in the ninja world.”

Iruka continued, "This organization is known for its cruelty and cold-bloodedness. They seal the souls of their enemies in special marks and then use the power of these souls in battle. It is said that they can even control the dead, turning them into their puppets..."

"I see!" Naruto suddenly realized. He was proud of himself for providing such a crucial clue, puffed out his chest, and looked smug.

Sakura also cast an approving glance, and although Sasuke didn't say anything, a hint of approval was also revealed in his eyes.

The atmosphere eased slightly, and everyone seemed to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

However, at this moment, Kankuro, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, "Wait, Gaara, Temari, Maki, come here for a second." Kankuro called his companions from Sunagakure aside and whispered a few words to them.

Then, Kankuro approached Kakashi, his expression grave. "Jonin Kakashi, I must point out that Iruka-sensei's explanation may contain some inaccuracies." Kankuro pulled an old scroll from his robes and slowly unfurled it. "This is a secret ancient text from Sunagakure, containing information about ancient markings. Although it bears some resemblance to the 'Grievous Mark,' there are significant differences in the details..."

Just as Kankuro was about to explain these differences in detail, a gust of wind swept by, rustling the leaves.

A cold voice rang in everyone's ears, "It seems you have discovered our secret..." A group of black-clad ninjas had surrounded them without them noticing, each exuding a dangerous aura.

The air froze instantly, and a dangerous atmosphere enveloped everyone.

Chapter 118 Rasengan

The cold voice echoed through the forest, like the whisper of death.

Before the words were even finished, the black-clad ninjas shot out like arrows released from a bow, the sound of their shurikens slicing through the air sharp and piercing, drawing deadly arcs.

"Watch out!" Kakashi shouted, his Sharingan instantly activating, crimson light swirling within the three tomoe.

He flashed and stood in front of everyone, his Kunlun sword dancing like a serpent, deflecting all the incoming shuriken.

A series of clanging metallic sounds filled the air, and sparks flew everywhere.

The mysterious ninja leader sneered, "Kakashi, the Copy Ninja of Konoha, I've long admired your name! Today, let me experience your skills!" With that, he formed hand seals and began chanting incantations.

A powerful surge of chakra erupted from his body, causing the surrounding trees to tremble.

Kakashi dared not be careless; he knew this battle would be tough.

He took a deep breath, concentrated his chakra in his feet, and moved like a ghost, dodging the leader's attacks.

At the same time, the Kunlun sword in his hand also retaliated mercilessly, with flashes of light and shadows and ear-piercing friction sounds.

The air around them seemed to freeze, and a tense atmosphere enveloped everyone.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and the others watched the battle with bated breath, not daring to make a sound.

They knew that the outcome of this battle would directly determine their lives.

Kakashi's battle with the mysterious leader has entered a heated phase.

Lightning Release, Earth Release, Water Release...

Various ninjutsu techniques emerged one after another, and dazzling lights and deafening explosions rose and fell, turning the originally peaceful forest into a chaotic battlefield.