Konoha: Superman template, the spoiled brat becomes strong.

She walked quickly to the innermost wooden shelf, pulled out a book made of animal hide. The gold lacquer on the cover had peeled off, and the four characters "Essentials of Ancient Sealing Techniques" were faintly visible.

“Here.” She turned to a page in the middle, her knuckles turning white from the force. “Records from three hundred years ago in Kumogakure: Ninjas used meteorite iron mixed with tailed beast chakra to suppress the rampaging ley lines. But it requires…” Her voice suddenly stopped, “the caster and the medium must resonate, and the medium must be ‘a pure thing uncontaminated by the turbidity of the mortal world.’”

Ebizo's fingers began to tap again—this time on the wooden frame, "Pure material... Star Iron?"

"Possibly." Chiyo's pupils contracted slightly. "But where would we find them?"

“I…I remember,” Yukino suddenly said, her voice trembling.

She adjusted her glasses, her eyes shining brightly behind the lenses. "Three years ago, a caravan passed through Sunagakure and donated a batch of ore. They said it was mined from 'Kikoku Fortress' on the border of the Land of Fire, and that the ore there could absorb chakra." She pointed out the window. "Kikoku Fortress is located on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, and now... it's being watched by the Iwagakure patrol."

Ebizo's knocking stopped.

He pulled out his pipe but didn't light it, tapping his chin with the mouthpiece: "Ghost Cry Fortress? I've been there. The ruins are full of traps. How long have the people from Iwagakure been watching it?"

“Three months.” Yukino took out a yellowed slip of paper from her sleeve. “It’s written in the caravan log. The vein is under the castle lord’s bedroom. To dig it out… you have to go through three traps.”

Chiyo clutched the note, her knuckles turning white.

A sudden gust of wind blew in through the window, causing the pages of the animal-skin book to rustle and reveal a picture on one of the pages—a stone slab covered in runes, its patterns identical to the light particles seeping from Bai Ye's body.

“We must get those ores.” Chiyo folded the note into a small piece and stuffed it into her collar. “Ebizo, prepare stardust and explosive talismans; Yukino, you’re familiar with ancient texts, come with us—we need you to recognize the runes when we encounter traps.”

Hai Bizang chuckled, his pipe dangling from his lips, his wrinkles gleaming with sharp light: "I told you, you wouldn't let that kid die without a clear explanation." He turned to gather the scrolls on the wooden shelf, "But let's make it clear first, the Ghost Cry Fortress trap blew off my leg, you'll have to carry me back."

Yukino's hand was still on the "Ancient Sealing Techniques", her fingertips trembling slightly.

She looked at Chiyo, then at Ebizo, and suddenly nodded vigorously: "I...I'll gather some rubbing tools; they might come in handy."

Sparrows fluttered past the window, casting shadows as their wings swept across the window frame.

Chiyo gazed at the shadow and suddenly remembered the white night in the cave—his fingers were still unconsciously clenching, and the light particles seemed to be flowing away faster than in the morning.

"We'll set off at midnight." She patted Ebizo on the shoulder. "First, we'll go to Ghost Cry Castle."

Ebizo placed the last scroll of silk back on the wooden shelf, and as he turned around, the ninja tool pouch at his waist made a soft rustling sound.

Yukino had already run downstairs with a stack of rubbings, the sound of her wooden clogs echoing in the empty library like rapid drumbeats.

But in a corner unseen by them, in the shadows behind the bookshelf, a pair of eyes were watching all of this.

The owner of those eyes took out the messenger bird from his pocket, gently pried open its beak, and stuffed the note inside.

The sky outside the window began to darken, like paper soaked in ink.

A storm is quietly approaching as night falls.

Chapter 605 Triple Trap

At 11:45 AM, the bluestone slabs in the back alley of the Sunagakure Library were slippery from the night dew.

Chiyo's wooden clogs crunched over the puddles, making a soft, rustling sound. She clutched a talisman wrapped in oiled paper tightly to her chest, her fingertips able to touch the raised incantation marks on the paper—a secret earth-escape trap made by Ebizo overnight, specifically designed to target Iwagakure's earth-escape techniques.

"Yukino, keep up." Ebizo's voice was like sandpaper scraping against a millstone. He walked in front with his back hunched, his pipe spinning in his palm, and suddenly a half-inch of cold light popped out from the tip.

The old advisor's left eye narrowed into a slit in the shadows, and his right ear twitched slightly—an instinct honed from twenty years of scout work, allowing him to detect the trembling of grass thirty paces away.

Yukino's breathing was very soft, yet it trembled almost imperceptibly.

The wooden box she was carrying kept bumping against her legs, making a dull thud with every step she took.

Three months ago, when she was sorting out the caravan's donation records, she simply tucked that yellowed piece of paper into "A Study of Ancient Ninja Weapons," but now it has become a guiding light for the entire team.

A thin mist veiled the girl's glasses, reflecting Chiyo's taut jawline—the usually composed old woman now had her white hair at her temples blown wildly by the night wind, like a restless ball of snow.

"Fifty paces to the left front, Iwagakure patrol." Ebizo suddenly stopped and tapped the ground lightly with his pipe.

His boot toe dug a shallow pit in the mud, revealing the silvery sheen of stardust at the bottom—something he had just secretly sprinkled to confuse chakra fluctuations.

Chiyo's fingers gripped the kunai at her waist, her knuckles turning white.

She could hear her own heartbeat, each beat pounding against her ribs, like counting the speed at which the white light particles were passing by.

In the cave at dawn, the boy's fingertips could still grasp her wrist, but now... She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her pupils burned with a cold fire: "Go around the mountain ridge, walk through the wild rose bushes."

Yukino, use the mugwort leaves from your bosom to wipe the soles of your shoes.

"Yes!" Yukino hurriedly pulled a cloth bag from her sleeve, rubbed her fingers, which were wet with mugwort juice, on the soles of her shoes, and the bitter fragrance of the grass leaves immediately masked the smell of sweat on her soles.

When she looked up, she met Ebizo's gaze. The old advisor winked at her, and the sharp glint in his wrinkles suddenly reminded her of her father's dying words: "Knowledge is not ink in a book, but a blade that can save lives."

As the three moved along the mountainside, the footsteps of the Iwagakure ninjas grew closer and then faded away.

The ninja leading the team grumbled, "What treasures could there be in that wretched place like Ghost Cry Castle?"

"Lord Ōnoki insisted that we guard this place..." His words were torn to shreds by the mountain wind, and Ebizo's pipe finally drooped down, drawing a circle on the ground—it was safe.

The broken walls of Ghost Cry Castle finally revealed their outline under the moonlight.

Withered vines climbed the ruins like severed snakes, and half of the faded banner of the Fire Kingdom was still stuck in the arrow tower at the highest point, fluttering in the wind like some kind of ominous summoning banner.

"Wait." Chiyo suddenly raised her hand, and the kunai "clanged" into the mound of earth in front of her.

The soil fell in a rustling sound, revealing the chakra sensing symbol buried beneath—the mark of Iwagakure, as red as blood.

Ebizo squatted down and used his pipe to pick up the talisman: "New, no more than two hours." His Adam's apple bobbed. "Someone is even faster than us."

Before the words were finished, seven dark figures emerged from behind the broken wall.

The ninja in the lead wore an Iwagakure headband, with fresh dirt clinging to it, indicating he had just emerged from underground.

He pointed his kunai at Chiyo: "The old bastards from Sunagakure certainly know how to pick a place."

Yukino's rubbing box fell to the ground with a "thud," scattering rubbing paper all over the floor.

She hurriedly went to pick it up, only to find a piece of paper stepped on by a Shinobi ninja. The paper had the words "Triple Trap" written crookedly on it—key information from the caravan's records.

"Oh no!" Her voice was trembling with tears as she looked up and was met with the cold laughter of the Iwagakure Jonin.

Chiyo stood in front of Yukino, gathering chakra in her palm.

Sparks suddenly flew from Ebizo's pipe—he had ignited the gunpowder hidden inside, which could explode into a cloud of smoke at any moment.

Chapter 606 Seeking Peace and Quiet

However, the seven people opposite them spread out in the Big Dipper formation, and two of them, as genin, had already formed hand seals. The vibrations of earth-escape techniques came from underground, like a giant beast turning over.

"You guys are making quite a scene."

The clear, cold female voice pierced the night like an icicle.

Everyone looked up and saw a figure standing atop the broken wall, his moon-white kimono billowing in the wind, revealing the cold glint of three short swords at his waist.

The woman's eyes were slightly upturned, and her lips were a color more vibrant than blood; she was none other than Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure.

"Lord Mizukage?" Yukino was so surprised that she forgot to pick up the paper.

Chiyo's kunai drooped slightly—she had heard the legend of Mei Terumi, the "uncrowned empress of the ninja world" who could use five chakra nature transformations simultaneously.

Mei Terumi walked down the air, each step creating ripples on the water's surface, yet not a single drop of water fell.

Her fingertips traced the short sword at her waist: "Iwagakure, did Onoki send you to steal Hoshitsu?"

Or perhaps…” she suddenly laughed, “You have no idea what Star Iron is good for, you’re just being sent to be cannon fodder?”

The pupils of the Iwagakure Jonin suddenly contracted.

Mei Terumi's words were like a fine needle, piercing through all his pretense.

He subconsciously turned to look at his companions, only to find that the Adam's apples of several genin were moving—clearly, they only knew the appearance but not the reason behind it.

“What we need is a mineral that can save lives.” Chiyo suddenly spoke, her voice filled with an urgency she herself didn’t even realize. “That child… the light particles within him resonate with the pure things recorded in ancient texts.”

Mei Terumi's gaze swept over Chiyo's graying temples and then landed on the rubbing paper at Yukino's feet.

She reached out and picked up the crumpled piece of paper, glanced at the words on it, and suddenly stuffed the crumpled paper into the arms of the Iwagakure Jonin: "Take this back and report."

Tell Onoki that Kirigakure and Sunagakure have joined forces; if he wants to steal Hoshitsu, he'll have to get past me first.

Cold sweat beaded on the forehead of the Iwagakure Jonin.

He glanced at the faint water shield surrounding Mei Terumi, then at the flickering sparks between Ebizo's fingers, and finally waved his hand: "Retreat!"

After the shadows receded like a tide, Mei Terumi turned around and her kimono swayed slightly: "I received intelligence that the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and even the Hidden Cloud Village are investigating the news about the Demon Cry Castle."

Someone is stirring things up behind the scenes, trying to incite war between the five nations. "Her fingertips traced the oiled paper package in Chiyo's handbag," she said, "The Star Iron you want might be the key."

Chiyo gripped the explosive tag tightly: "What are you after?"

"Just want some peace and quiet." Mei Terumi suddenly drew her short sword, the blade catching a sliver of moonlight. "The five kingdoms are in chaos, and even the seas of Kirigakure are not at peace." She beckoned to Yukino, "Little girl, lead the way."

Upon entering the castle master's bedroom, the musty smell was almost choking.

Yukino held up a tinderbox, the flame making the runes on the wall flicker.

Her fingers traced the stone wall, then suddenly stopped: "Here!"

Just like the 'Triple Lock' in the "Ancient Sealing Techniques"!

Ebizo tapped his pipe against the third rune with a "crack," and a fissure appeared in the ground.

The light emanating from below was a faint blue glow—it was the Star Iron Ore Vein.

"Hurry up and pack it!" Chiyo pulled out a lead box she had prepared beforehand. As soon as the star iron touched the box wall, it made a "sizzling" sound, as if it was absorbing chakra.

Yukino knelt down and pressed the rubbing paper against the mineral vein. The back of the paper immediately showed patterns similar to the light particles inside Byakuya's body.

Mei Terumi suddenly pressed her short sword against the door frame: "There's movement."

Before he finished speaking, all the flames went out at the same time.

The darkness, like a gaping maw, swallowed the four of them.

Yukino's rubbing paper was swept away by the wind with a "whoosh." She wanted to shout, but Chiyo covered her mouth.

"You think you can stop me like this?"

A chilling voice came from above, like an icicle piercing the back of the neck.

Everyone looked up and saw two scarlet eyes floating in the darkness, with strange patterns crawling across the whites of their eyes.

"The game has only just begun..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the sound of fingernails scraping against the stone wall came from underground, growing louder as if a million hands were digging at the same time.

Chiyo's fingers gripped Yukino's wrist, and she could feel the girl's pulse beating rapidly.

She lowered her voice, her breath brushing against her companion's ear: "..."

Chapter 607 The Mysterious Smoke

Darkness, like cotton soaked in poison, filled every inch of the Ghost Cry Castle's master bedroom, making it airtight.

Chiyo's palms were covered in cold sweat. Her fingertips pressed against Yukino's lips, and she could feel the girl's trembling eyelashes brushing against the back of her hand—a tremor even more subtle than a heartbeat.

"The chakra fluctuations are off." Mei Terumi's voice was like a fine blade tempered with ice. Her water release hand seals were three times faster than usual. Her fingertips just touched her throat and formed a water sphere. But the pale blue light had only risen to her chest when it was torn into mist by some force.

Shuiying's brows furrowed into a cold, hard angle. "This isn't an ordinary illusion...it's more like...turbulent currents from a spatial rift."

Ebizo twirled his pipe in his palm, the sparks drawing dark red arcs in the darkness.

He suddenly bent down and took out three thumb-sized copper balls from the leather pouch at his waist. He pushed the balls with his fingertips on the engravings on the balls, and after three soft clanging sounds, gray smoke rose simultaneously from the left, center, and right directions.

The smoke carried a pungent sulfurous smell and instantly blurred all outlines—this was the Sand Village's unique "Stealth Smoke," which could interfere with the five senses and was even difficult for the Sharingan to penetrate.

"Yukino!" Chiyo called out in a low voice, tightening her grip on the girl's wrist slightly.

Yukino immediately realized what was happening, and using her knees to shuffle along the stone surface to reach the mine, the lead box in her arms clicking open.

She dipped her fingertip in saliva and smeared it on the inside of the box lid. It was made with a secret glue powder that could temporarily prevent the Star Iron from absorbing chakra.

The moment the star iron touched the box wall, fine white steam rose from the surface of the lead box, like wax melting in a fire.

"Alright!" Yukino stuffed the lead box into her bosom, then pulled out a crumpled rubbing paper from her pocket—the one that had been blown away by the wind had somehow returned, and the light patterns on the back of the paper were flickering with her heartbeat. "It's the same as the light particle patterns inside Shiro... that person's body!"

Before he could finish speaking, a chilling sensation suddenly ran down the back of his neck.

"You think you can stop me like this?"

The sound seemed to be squeezed out from countless throats, with a metallic scraping sound, right three feet above your head.

Chiyo's explosive tags were burning hot from gripping them so tightly that she could hear her temples throbbing—something was wrong. When the Iwagakure Jonin retreated, the security outside Onikiri Castle was clearly cleared up. How could such a...inhuman being suddenly appear?