Konoha: Superman template, the spoiled brat becomes strong.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Luo Sha, who had been silent all along, suddenly sprang into action. His fingernails grew three inches long and scratched Bai Ye's back, leaving three deep, bone-revealing wounds.

Taking advantage of Bai Ye's moment of pain, Luo Sha lunged at the black stone slab in the center of the altar, which was the core of the entire reincarnation array.

Finally got it! Luo Sha's laughter was mad. The moment his fingers touched the stone slab, the runes on the surface suddenly came to life, like countless small snakes crawling into his skin.

His skin began to fester, revealing stark white bones beneath the bluish-gray flesh, yet he clung desperately to the stone slab: As long as... as long as I can control... Ah!

Greedy fool. The messenger of destiny retreated with a cold laugh. This stone slab needs a pure vessel, but your mind is filled with lust for power.

Luo Sha's screams came to an abrupt halt.

His body began to collapse, first his limbs turned to dust, then his torso and head, and finally even his soul was devoured clean by the runes.

The stone slab fell from the dust, and Bai Ye, bracing himself, rushed over and caught it before it hit the ground.

Now, it's time to end it. He pressed the stone slab into the groove in the center of the altar.

The runes that had been running wildly suddenly reversed direction, the kunai on the black stone pillars fell to the ground, and the purple mist began to dissipate.

The figure of the Messenger of Destiny became transparent. He stared at Bai Ye, the madness in his eyes gradually replaced by resentment: You will regret this... Without my guidance, these living people will only repeat the same mistakes...

Before he finished speaking, his body vanished without a trace, like ashes scattered by the wind.

The light in the altar suddenly brightened.

When Chiyo, Ebizo, and Onoki rushed in, they saw Byakuya kneeling in front of the stone slab, blood still seeping from the wound on his back, his breathing rapid like a broken bellows.

Is this... enough? He looked up at Chiyo, a weak smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Chiyo reached out and pressed her hand against his forehead, her chakra surging into his body to probe him.

When she touched the meridians eroded by the runes, her eyes reddened slightly: You did it, child.

But this is just the beginning... The future of the ninja world needs more people like you.

Bai Ye's consciousness began to blur.

He heard Ebizo calling for medical ninjas and Onoki cursing reckless brats, but these voices grew fainter and fainter.

Finally, what came into his view was the ninja world map mark on his chest—the once bright gold was gradually dimming, like a candle flame about to burn out.

In the final moments before darkness descended, he suddenly remembered what the Third Hokage had said when he first saw the mark: This is proof of being chosen by the will of the ninja world.

Now, this proof seems... to be fading?

Chapter 568 The Weight of the Ninja World

The altar's stone slabs still retained the faint glow of the runes. When Byakuya's body was carried out of the forbidden area by medical ninjas on soft pads, the blood on his back had already soaked half of the stretcher.

In the deepest medical chamber of Sunagakure, the heater burned brightly, but it couldn't warm his pale fingertips—the ninja world map mark on his chest was slowly dimming, like a candle wick blown out by the wind, with only a few embers left to extinguish.

His chakra was in complete disarray, like a wheat field trampled by a wild bear. The medical ninja in charge of watching over him wiped the sweat from his brow; the runes had eroded his three main meridians. If he had been even half a moment later...

Granny Chiyo dug her nails deep into her palms.

Looking at the boy's tightly closed eyes, she suddenly remembered the same kind of wound she had seen on the battlefield of the Land of Rain thirty years ago—her son and daughter-in-law had suffered the same fate, their chakra devoured by the cursed seal of war, leaving them without even a last word.

sister.

Ebizo's voice came from the doorway.

The Sand Village advisor, who always carried his abacus at his waist, wasn't wearing his usual bell this time. His boots slammed against the tatami mat as he muttered, "That old stone, Onoki, has already left with the Iwagakure people. Before he left, he cursed you, saying you're crazy to believe a mere brat." He glanced at Byakuya on the hospital bed, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Now even our allies are starting to question it. Are you sure you want to bet on this kid whose identity is a mystery?"

Chiyo didn't answer, but simply reached out and gently stroked the stray hairs on Byakuya's forehead that were stuck together with sweat.

The girl's body temperature was abnormally low, but when her chakra probed in, she touched something scalding hot deep within the disordered meridians—like magma suppressed under a volcano, stubbornly churning even though it was about to be swallowed by darkness.

"Do you remember the Kannabi Bridge from thirty years ago?" she suddenly asked.

Ebizo was taken aback.

Those were years he didn't want to recall: during the most brutal war between Sunagakure and Konoha, he followed his troops across the bridge and witnessed Konoha's White Fang wielding his sword to behead thirty Sunagakure ninjas.

The blood stained the bridge planks dark red, and even the river seemed to be weeping.

At that time, there was a Konoha genin who disobeyed orders to save his comrades. Chiyo's voice was so soft it was like a sigh. Everyone called him a traitor, and even his comrades thought he had gone mad.

But what happened next? She turned to Ebizo, a sharp glint in her cloudy eyes. That genin student had become the Fourth Hokage, and with the belief that wherever leaves dance, fire will burn, he helped Konoha rise from the ruins.

Ebizo fell silent.

He recalled the scene he had just witnessed in the forbidden area—the boy kneeling before the stone slab, blood still seeping from the wound on his back, yet he stubbornly used chakra threads to entangle the life-devouring runes, like pulling a venomous snake by its vital spot in the opposite direction.

The incantation on the stone slab was meant to control the evil thoughts of the daimyo of various countries, but he insisted on drawing that evil fire upon himself.

He wasn't sacrificing himself. Chiyo pressed her fingertips against the mark on Byakuya's chest, proving that even when surrounded by the world's malice, there are always people willing to burn themselves into flames.

The candlelight in the secret room suddenly flickered.

Bai Ye's eyelashes trembled violently, and a broken groan escaped from her throat.

His consciousness was plunging into a chaotic darkness, countless afterimages flashing before his eyes: in the ruins of the Land of Rain, a little girl cried, clutching a doll with a broken leg; in the mines of the Land of Lightning, his companion's last gesture before being buried alive by earth magic; under the eaves of the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Fire, the fear and resentment in the fat man's eyes as he pierced his own heart...

Your strength comes from your belief. A deep voice surges from all directions, like a tide washing over you, but is belief alone enough?

When the people you protect turn around and blame you, when all your efforts only result in a more brutal war, can you still persevere?

Bai Ye wanted to speak in rebuttal, but found that she couldn't make a sound.

Those afterimages suddenly solidified into reality—the little girl from the Land of Rain turned into a blood-soaked figure, his companions from the mine crawled over, covered in wounds, and the daimyo's corpse from the Land of Fire split open at his feet, revealing countless distorted faces beneath: You killed me! You're the one who did it! You couldn't save anyone!

He staggered backward, his back hitting something hard.

Looking up, they saw a wall made of incantations, exactly like the stone slabs in the forbidden area.

The runes were glowing with a ghostly blue light, like countless eyes staring at him.

Give up. The voice softened. You're just a mortal, why should you bear the weight of the entire ninja world?

shut up!

Bai Ye roared and raised his hand.

The bone spurs of the bone wings suddenly burst out from his back, the dark joints still stained with undried blood.

He swung his arm at the wall of incantations, and blinding white light burst forth where the bone spikes struck.

Chapter 569 When to Depart?

I've seen too many people die from helplessness. He gasped for breath, his bone wings unfurling behind him like butterflies. He'd seen mothers protecting their children, burned to ashes by fire-style attacks; he'd seen ninjas kill their childhood sweethearts for their missions. The bone spikes slashed down again, cracking the spell wall. If my resolve isn't strong enough, then I'll use this bone as a cushion!

If my blood isn't hot enough, then I'll let it all out, down to the last drop!

boom--

The wall of incantations collapsed with a crash.

Bai Ye stumbled and fell into a flash of white light, his consciousness suddenly returning to reality.

He heard Ebizo's voice boom in his ear: The chakra fluctuations have stabilized!

Quickly, perform the Transformation Seal!

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on a soft cushion, with Chiyo and Ebizo's faces close to his.

Sweat beaded on Ebizo's forehead, and he still had half a set of medical hand seals on his hand; Chiyo held his wrist, her chakra flowing through her body like a warm stream.

"Awake?" Ebizo pulled his hand away irritably. "You're as tough as a cactus in the desert."

Byakuya tried to sit up, but Chiyo pressed down on her shoulder.

He then realized that he was weak all over, and even lifting a finger felt like lifting a mountain.

But the mark on his chest was no longer dim; although it still only emitted a tiny light, at least it hadn't gone out.

"The stone slab..." he asked in a hoarse voice, "Has it been reversed?"

Chiyo shook her head: You've corrected the direction of the runes, but the consciousness network of the ninja world is still vibrating.

Like the ripples on a lake after being hit by a stone, they don't disappear immediately. She paused, then added that what was even more troublesome was that secret envoys from various daimyo had already begun their journey to Sunagakure.

When they heard that the daimyo of the Land of Fire had died, they all assumed that we were the ones who did it.

"Then let them come." Bai Ye forced a pale smile, his bone wings faintly visible behind him. "I want to ask those lords sitting in the golden palace, is their power more important, or the lives of millions of people in the ninja world?"

Ebizo suddenly snorted, turned around, and took out a bronze bell from his pocket.

The bell was carved with the Sand Village's scorpion pattern, but it made no sound when shaken. It was the key to the secret meeting place. He placed the bell in Byakuya's hand; it was in an underground cavern in the Valley of the Wind, a place large enough to accommodate five Kage-level figures simultaneously.

Chiyo raised an eyebrow: When did you...?

"Don't look at me like that, sister." Ebizo clipped the abacus back to his waist. "I don't believe in God, but I believe that only the living have the right to talk about the future." He glanced at Bai Ye. "Since this kid dares to risk his life, I have to pave a way for him."

Bai Ye looked down at the bell in his palm.

The bronze surface still retains the warmth of Ebizo's body, and tiny characters for "wind" are engraved at the eyes of the scorpion pattern.

He suddenly remembered the last scene before he fell into a coma—that dim mark, and the Third Hokage's words about the will of the ninja world.

Perhaps what we call willpower is never the choice of some god.

It was a path built with blood and flesh by fools like him, old women like Granny Chiyo, and stubborn guys like Ebizo.

"When are we leaving?" he asked, looking up.

Ebizo had already reached the door, his hand on the latch: "When you can stand up straight."

Chiyo smiled and shook her head, then turned to rummage through the medical kit: "Drink this tendon-regenerating soup first. In your current state, even the sands of the Valley of the Wind could blow you over."

Bai Ye took the soup bowl, the warmth spreading from her palms to her heart.

The moonlight streamed through the paper window, casting a silvery edge on the mark on his chest.

That tiny glimmer of light, I don't know when, brightened a bit more.

The underground caverns of the Valley of the Wind. A secret meeting place.

He muttered those two words to himself, when suddenly he heard the sound of camel bells in the distance.

Those were the scouts from Sunagakure returning; the sound of their horses' hooves carried the whistling of the wind, as if to say—

It's time to go.

Chapter 570 The Messenger's Backup Plan

The moonlight in the Valley of the Wind was mostly swallowed by the clouds. As Byakuya followed Chiyo and Ebizo through the gravel-covered path, the soles of his boots crushed a few dry cactus thorns.

The sound of camel bells in the distance grew clearer, and three camels wrapped in gray cloth emerged from behind the sand dunes. The riders between the humps lowered their straw hats, revealing only half of their bandaged faces—they were the most elite ANBU members of Sunagakure, responsible for escorting them to the secret meeting place.

The cave entrance was hidden in the shadow of wind-eroded pillars. As Ebizo leaped onto his camel, he tapped the bronze bell on the saddle with his knuckles. "Three years ago, when Gaara was captured, we transported Kankuro's puppet out from here." His voice was low, and the wind swirled sand into his collar, but Byakuya sensed a deep melancholy in it—the secrets of Sunagakure had always been steeped in the scent of blood and sand.

Granny Chiyo's camel led the way, the tip of her cane leaving shallow marks on the sand: Don't expect to see any magnificent venue. She turned her head to the side, a coldness floating in her wrinkles. What could make old foxes like the Raikage and Tsuchikage willing to hide in a hole and meet up was never tea and snacks.

The entrance to the cave was more cramped than expected, so the camel had to stay outside. The three of them walked in with a tinderbox.

Fluorescent moss covered the damp rock walls, illuminating the passage like eerie blue veins.

After walking for about half an incense stick's time, Bai Ye heard voices coming from ahead, mixed with the soft clanging of metal—it was the guards checking their weapons.

In Sunagakure Village, Chiyo and Ebizo led the way. Ebizo tossed the scorpion-patterned token from his waist, and with a crisp metallic clang, the stone door creaked open.

The so-called secret meeting place is actually a naturally formed stalactite cave.

Countless stone cones hung from the cave ceiling like inverted swords; a circular stone table stood in the center of the cave, around which sat a dozen or so people: the first on the left was a dark-skinned, muscular, burly man with a bare chest revealing a lightning tattoo on his chest—the Fourth Raikage, A; the right was a short old man with white eyebrows that almost reached his chin, but whose cloudy eyes gleamed with the light of a hawk—the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.

"You're late." The Raikage's voice was like muffled thunder. His fingers tapped on the stone table, his knuckles as thick as tree roots. It was time to change the camels' fodder in Sunagakure.

Lord Raikage, instead of rushing to destroy the stone slab, you should learn to respect the time of the living first. Ebizo pulled Byakuya to sit in an empty seat, his tone barbed.

Bai Ye noticed that the edges of the stone table were covered with faded runes, and some places still had charred marks—like traces of being burned by powerful chakra.

Granny Chiyo leaned close to Byakuya's ear: This is a resonance array left over from the era of the First Hokage. It can shield the five senses from interference and prevent eavesdropping by summoning jutsu or genjutsu.

But today... it might not be enough. Her fingertips lightly traced the scorch marks on the stone table, and Bai Ye then realized that the shapes of those scorch marks were somewhat similar to the mark on his chest.

The meeting began with the Raikage slamming his fist on the table. Three days ago, the Fire Country Daimyo's heart was impaled with senbon needles. He shouted that the day before yesterday, the entire Water Country merchant fleet had been wiped out on Onigashima, their chakra veins filled with cursed seals from stone tablets.

How long are you going to pretend to be deaf and dumb? His pupils flashed with lightning, and the chakra cloak behind him was faintly taking shape. He had to join forces with the sealing teams of the five great nations to completely destroy that broken stone under the Kannabi Bridge!

Destroy the stone slab? Onoki's laughter was like sandpaper rubbing together. He raised his hand, and a pebble floated in his palm. You think the First Hokage sealed it there with the tailed beast's chakra? It was just an ordinary rock.