Konoha: Superman template, the spoiled brat becomes strong.

He crouched down to pick them up, his shoulders trembling slightly as he faced away from the crowd: "Sister, the materials needed for 'Reviving a Dead Tree'..."

"I know." Chiyo's voice was very soft, as soft as a sigh.

She gazed at the moonlight outside the cave, where the hooting of owls swept across the mountain peaks. "Go and fetch the blood coral from the third warehouse, and also bring five strands of thousand-year-old ice silkworm silk."

Ebizo responded and grabbed his ninja tool bag, ready to leave.

As he reached the cave entrance, he suddenly stopped. "That kid..." He didn't turn around, "Can he really hold on until the spell is complete?"

Chiyo didn't say anything.

She reached out and pressed her hand on Bai Ye's wrist, feeling the increasingly weak pulse.

The wind from outside the cave blew in, making the white hair at her temples fly wildly.

Bai Ye looked into her eyes.

The old man's pupils reflected the flickering campfire, like two lamps that refused to go out.

“Yes,” he said.

This time, there was no weakness in his voice.

Outside the cave, the hooting of owls rang out once more.

Chiyo and Ebi were busy at the stone table, the medicinal liquid in the earthenware pot was bubbling, and most of the incantations on the cave wall had been carved.

Bai Ye watched their retreating figures, feeling the black threads within her body still moving, but no longer able to stir up much of a wave.

Because he knew—

The will of the living can never be easily extinguished.

The medicinal broth in the earthenware pot bubbled and churned with dark brown foam, while wisps of steam carrying the aroma of bitter almonds rose from the stone table.

Chiyo's fingers were still pressed on Byakuya's wrist, and she could clearly feel the pulse, like a dying cicada's wing, trembling sometimes fast and sometimes slow in the chaotic waves of chakra.

Just as Ebizo finished winding the last strand of ice silk around the bronze needle, a soft sound of a dry branch breaking came from outside the cave.

Chapter 602 Drawing the Sword Ahead of Schedule

The white-haired old woman's pupils suddenly contracted.

She released her grip, her fingernails pressing a faint white mark into Bai Ye's wrist. As she turned her head, her silver hair swept across the edge of the stone table, leaving two drops of medicinal juice on the half-carved incantation, which hissed and steamed.

The shadow at the entrance of the hole was cut open by a slit.

Moonlight and a gust of wind carried the night mist as they entered, the Leaf Headband gleaming coldly in the campfire.

His boots were covered with fragments of rock, and each step was as light as a leaf—but to a sensory ninja, this deliberately restrained footstep became the most obvious sign.

"Lady Chiyo." He knelt on one knee, his right hand resting on the sharkskin scabbard of his short sword at his waist. "The Konoha Intelligence Department has been ordered to investigate the aftermath of the incident in the Land of Fire." His voice was slammed against the rock wall by the cave wind, startling Ebizo, who was adding firewood. The fire tongs clattered into the charcoal pile, sending a few sparks landing on his sleeve and burning a few small, charred holes.

Chiyo didn't respond.

She stared into Moonlight Gale's eyes—those slightly upturned eyes held not only the composure of a mission executor, but also a subtle, almost imperceptible, curiosity.

It's like looking at a slug that has been peeled off, both curious about its internal structure and wary of its possible venom glands.

"We're saving someone," the old woman finally spoke, her withered finger pointing lightly at Bai Ye, who was lying on the animal skin.

The latter still had blood seeping from his forehead, and the blood from his nose, tinged with light, had congealed into a dark red scab on his chin. "But this person's life or death may cause the five great nations to draw their swords ahead of schedule."

Moonlight Gale's Adam's apple bobbed.

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the crooked, grotesque magical patterns on the cave wall, over the blood coral and ice silk on the stone table, and finally settling on Bai Ye's ashen face. "The night the Fire Country's daimyo was assassinated, someone saw a masked ninja leap from a secret chamber," he said, his voice even softer. "And this one... seems to have some connection to that masked ninja?"

Ebizo suddenly laughed.

He bent down to pick up the fire tongs and poked a brighter flame into the pile of charcoal, sparks crackling and popping: "Little kid, you're quite good at gathering intelligence." Wrinkles gathered at the corners of his eyes like a spider web. "But you should know that some secrets are heavier than the clouds of the Land of Thunder—when they come down, the first ones to be crushed are the sparrows that peek out."

Moonlight Gale's ear tips turned slightly red.

He gripped the scabbard tightly, then loosened and clenched it again, finally taking out a secret letter folded into a paper crane from his ninja tool pouch: "This is Lady Tsunade's order." As the paper crane unfolded, the firelight illuminated the crooked handwriting on it: "She said that if Sunagakure needs medical support, Konoha can dispatch the medical team led by Shizune."

Chiyo tapped her fingers three times on the stone table.

This is a code word within the Sunagakure advisory group, meaning "trustworthy".

She reached out and took the secret letter, her fingertips tracing the spiral-shaped sealing wax mark that Tsunade was known for, a hint of warmth rising in her eyes: "Go and release the ravens under the third pine tree at the cave entrance." She told Ebizo, "Tell Shizune that we need three bottles of Yin Healing Elixir and five portions of slug secretions—alive ones."

Ebizo responded, grabbed his ninja tool bag, and walked out.

As he passed Moonlight Gale, he suddenly stopped and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "The way you looked at that kid just now... like you were looking at prey." The old advisor's nails dug into the other's shoulder. "Remember, he's our catalyst now, not your intelligence."

The wind from outside the cave rushed in, carrying away the last half of the threat.

Moonlight Gale rubbed his aching shoulder, his gaze returning to White Night.

Only then did he notice that the young man's fingers were twitching slightly, and more particles of light were seeping from between his fingers than before, as if someone had sprinkled a handful of stardust under his skin.

“There’s something inside him,” Chiyo suddenly said.

She had somehow produced a crystal and placed it between Bai Ye's eyebrows.

Black mist rose from the surface of the crystal, like ink scattered by the wind. "When the consciousness space collapsed just now, the lingering resentment of that thing entangled his soul."

As the moonlight and wind drew closer, the black mist within the crystal suddenly condensed into a distorted human face.

His pupils contracted sharply, and the short knife was drawn half an inch from its sheath with a "whoosh"—reflected in the blade was a face he had never seen before, with extremely long, upturned eyes and a mouth that stretched to the roots of his ears, revealing sharp, white teeth.

"Your efforts... are all in vain."

The sound, like a rusty gong, exploded directly in everyone's minds.

Bai Ye suddenly arched his back, letting out a muffled roar like a wild beast.

His fingernails dug deeply into his palms, and drops of blood dripped from between his fingers onto the animal hide, staining the light particles an eerie purple.

Chapter 603 The Stone Tablet

Chiyo's crystal cracked open with a "crack," and black mist seeped out along the crack, gathering into a blurry human figure in mid-air.

"The power of the stone slab... has completely taken control of him." The figure's voice grew softer and softer, finally dissipating into the medicinal vapors.

The temperature inside the cave suddenly dropped by ten degrees.

Moonlight Gale's short sword clattered to the ground, and he then realized that his back was completely soaked, with cold sweat streaming down his spine.

Chiyo placed her hand on Byakuya's forehead and could feel that the skin was incredibly hot, like a piece of red-hot iron.

“The lingering resentment of the messenger of destiny.” She gritted her teeth and pulled a bronze bell from her bosom. “The sealing technique of the Land of Whirlpools mentioned that this kind of thing can attach itself to the consciousness of the living and grow by taking advantage of pain.” The bell made a soft tinkling sound as it shook. Bai Ye’s body slowly relaxed, but she sweated even more on her forehead, soaking the animal hide into a dark water stain.

It was around this time that Ebizo returned.

His ninja tool bag was bulging, clearly containing materials he had just retrieved.

Seeing the situation inside the cave, his brows immediately furrowed: "Sister, 'Rejuvenation of a Withered Tree' needs to be activated when the chakra is stable." He squatted down and used a silver needle to pry open Bai Ye's eyelids. "Right now, his three-tomoe chakra circuits are completely messed up. Forcing the technique will cause him to explode and die."

Moonlight Gale picked up the dagger, the scabbard striking the stone ground with a crisp sound. "The stone slab," he suddenly said, "that thing mentioned the stone slab."

I read in the Konoha archives that there's an ancient altar beneath the Fire Country's castle tower, with a glowing stone slab carved in its center. "His fingers unconsciously traced the cloud patterns on his scabbard," the guard said. "The night the daimyo was assassinated, the guards said there was a bright light coming from the direction of the altar, like...like the stone slab had been awakened."

Chiyo and Ebizo both looked up at the same time.

The old woman's pupils flickered like campfires, like two lamps suddenly blazing brightly: "Are you sure?"

“Confirmed.” Gekko Hayate nodded. “The intelligence department intercepted a secret letter from Iwagakure, saying that their prospecting ninja detected abnormal leyline fluctuations in the mountains of the Land of Fire, similar to the tailed beast chakra remnants from the Kannabi Bridge battlefield back then—but older, more…like some kind of sealed will.”

Ebizo's fingers tapped rapidly on the stone table.

This was his habit when he was thinking; he used this rhythm to pass information to his companions in the Sand Village dungeon when he was a child. "If the stone tablet is the source..." He suddenly stopped, glancing at the still unconscious Byakuya, "then to lift the curse, we might have to go to the altar."

The owl outside the cave cried out again.

The cry was sharper than before, like a needle piercing the tense air.

Chiyo gazed at the moonlight outside the cave, her white hair disheveled by the wind.

She reached out and touched Bai Ye's face. The young man's skin was no longer so hot, but the particles of light between her fingers were still slowly seeping out, as if counting down.

"Go prepare torches," she said suddenly. "Ebizo, take the stardust from the third storehouse; Gekko, contact your medical team and have them stand by two miles outside the altar." The old woman's voice was unwavering, like a rock blade worn down over seventy years. "We need to go to the underground altar of the castle tower—to find that stone slab."

Ebizo's hand paused.

He looked into his sister's eyes and suddenly smiled, his wrinkles filled with the relief of surviving a close call: "I knew you wouldn't let that kid die in the cave." He turned to pack his things, the metal buckles of his ninja tool bag clinking together. "But let me make this clear first, if there are any ancient mechanisms in the altar, I'm not responsible for collecting your body."

Moonlight Gale gripped the short sword tightly.

He gazed at the night outside the cave and suddenly felt that the moon was exceptionally bright tonight, so bright that it could illuminate the outline of the Fire Country Castle at the foot of the mountain.

It was once the palace of a daimyo, but now it is a labyrinth shrouded in shadow.

What they had to do was carry the lamp and walk into the darkest part of the shadows.

Bai Ye stirred slightly while unconscious.

His fingers gently touched Chiyo's hand, like a leaf falling on the water's surface.

The old woman looked down at him and noticed that the young man's lips curled up slightly, as if he were having a sweet dream.

The wind outside the cave grew stronger.

The campfire roared and burned brightly, casting long shadows on the cave walls.

Among those shadows were three people carrying torches, walking towards the direction of the Fire Country's castle tower.

Beneath their feet, the moonlight paved a silver path—leading to the unknown, and also to the possible dawn.

Chapter 604 Pure Item... Star Iron?

The campfire in the cave had weakened to a dark red lump of embers. Chiyo threw the last piece of dry firewood into the fire, and as the sparks crackled and popped, the metallic clanging of Ebizo fastening the buckle of his ninja tool bag was particularly clear.

"Don't rush to the altar yet." He suddenly spoke, his fingers unconsciously tapping the stone table, his knuckles turning white from the force—this was the rhythm he used to pass coded messages with his companions in the Sunagakure dungeon twenty years ago. "Back then at the Five Kage Summit, Onoki mentioned that ancient ruins often have written records on their stone slabs. The Sunagakure's ancient library... might hold clues to breaking the curse."

Chiyo's fingers stopped on Byakuya's forehead.

Although the young woman's body temperature had dropped, the light that seeped between her fingers still flowed away like fine sand, accumulating into tiny silver spots in her palm.

She pursed her lips, the wrinkles beneath her white hair deepening: "Blindly rushing into the altar is tantamount to suicide." Turning her head, her gaze swept over Moonlight Gale leaning against the cave wall. "You stay here and check his chakra flow every half hour. If the light particle flow speed increases..." The old woman's Adam's apple bobbed, her voice lowering, "Immediately use the Flying Thunder God Mark to send a message."

Moonlight Gale gripped the short sword tightly, the engravings on the hilt causing a sharp pain in his palm.

He gazed at Bai Ye's pale face, noticing the young man's eyelashes trembling as if trying to break free from some nightmare, and finally nodded heavily: "Yes."

Before the morning mist had dissipated, Chiyo and Ebizo's figures had already blended into the fog.

Moonlight Gale crouched back beside the straw mat. Just as his fingertips touched White Night's wrist, the young man suddenly let out a very soft groan. His fingers clenched weakly, then fell limply to the ground.

Another ring of light appeared on the straw mat, like stardust scattered by an invisible hand.

The blue tiles and white walls of the Sunagakure Village Library are faintly visible in the mist.

When Chiyo pushed open the door, the wooden door frame creaked softly, and the smell of musty paper and ink wafted out.

"Grandma Chiyo?"

The sound came from the second floor.

A girl in a moon-white kimono leaned forward, holding onto the stair railing. A wooden hairpin with shattered jade pendants dangled from her hair, jingling with her movements.

It was Yukino, the librarian, her eyes behind her glasses curving into crescents. "What brings you here?"

"Looking for something." Chiyo went straight to the point, "Documents related to the ancient stone tablets. Sealing techniques, ley line fluctuations... the older the better."

Yukino tapped her finger on the stair railing—a habit she had when reminiscing.

“The ‘Azure Sea Pavilion’ on the east corner of the third floor.” She hurried downstairs, her wooden clogs clattering on the floor. “It contains the manuscripts from the time of the First Kazekage, as well as clay tablets salvaged from desert ruins.” Her fingertips trembled slightly as she took the torch from Ebizo. “Those books are brittle… turn the pages gently.”

The copper locks of Canghai Pavilion emitted a harsh scraping sound.

The moment the door opened, dust danced in the beam of light, and Chiyo squinted—on the sandalwood shelves covering the entire wall were stacks of yellowed scrolls, moldy silk books, and books bound in animal hides, the musty smell mixed with the bitter fragrance of pine soot ink wafting towards her.

“Start from the third row on the left.” Yukino pulled out a scroll wrapped in red silk, her fingertips tracing the faded ink at the beginning. “This is the ‘Fragment of Forbidden Techniques’ compiled by the previous advisor. It records the ‘Kami-Narukaka Incident’ in Yamato Province, where a leyline outburst triggered a mudslide, and ultimately…”

"Stop." Ebizo suddenly grabbed her wrist.

His thumb pressed against a spot on the silk scroll, beneath a small hole worm-eaten, where a line of vermilion annotations was faintly visible: "Use star iron as a medium to draw upon the power of the nine luminaries to seal and suppress it."

Chiyo leaned closer, her withered fingers tracing the tattered writing: "The power of the Nine Luminaries... the chakra of the stars?" Turning her head, her gaze was like a knife, "Are there any similar records?"

Yukino's glasses suddenly reflected light.