Konoha: Superman template, the spoiled brat becomes strong.

"Well done." Her voice was softer than usual as she reached out to pull Bai Ye along.

Just as Bai Ye was about to reach out, a deep horn sound suddenly came from the mountain pass in the distance.

The sound was like a sob crushed by the wind, mixed with the sound of horses' hooves, coming from afar.

Everyone looked up at the same time.

Mei Terumi's ice spear solidified in her palm again, her brows furrowed; Kakashi's Sharingan suddenly opened, his gaze beneath his forehead guard as cold as a knife; Yukino's hand gripping the ancient book began to tremble again, her knuckles turning white; Granny Chiyo's cane tip sank into the sand, the light in her eyes burning brightly once more.

Bai Ye stood up, his short sword still stuck in the shield array.

He gazed at the rising dust in the distance, the chain patterns on his collarbone slightly warm—this time.

Chapter 624 Rushing to Rob

The aftershocks from the mine were still gently shaking the ground, but the bugle call was like a poisoned needle, precisely piercing everyone's tense nerves.

Bai Ye's knuckles trembled slightly on the hilt of the short sword.

The chain-like pattern on his collarbone was burning hot, a sign of his resonance with the energy of the mineral vein—the heat was not as violent as before, but rather like a warning buzzing.

He gazed at the rising brownish-yellow smoke in the distance, his Adam's apple bobbing twice.

The last time he smelled this wind, mixed with rust and sand, was on the roof of the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Fire. When he cut the fat man's throat, the same stench wafted through the shouts of the soldiers below.

“They’re cavalry.” Kakashi’s Sharingan spun beneath his headband, the three tomoe slowly rotating. “At least three hundred men. The sound of hooves mixed with the scraping of metal suggests they’re heavily armored.” He reached up and pressed his hand against the kunai at his waist, his black gloves gleaming coldly in the sunlight. “The target is clear: heading straight for the mine.”

Mei Terumi's ice spear tip drooped half an inch, but she didn't completely retract it into her palm.

A strand of her ice-blue hair was lifted by the wind, and the pale red eyeshadow at the corner of her eyes trembled: "To be able to evade the spies on the border of Sunagakure, the intelligence network is more sophisticated than I imagined." Before she finished speaking, tiny ice crystals had already gathered at her fingertips, reflecting rainbow light in her palm—that was the starting stance of Water Release: Water Mirror Technique, ready to launch a reconnaissance at any moment.

Yukino pulled the ancient book even closer to her chest.

Her white sleeves, stained with the red clay of the mine, were now slipping down with a slight tremor of her shoulders. "The day before yesterday... the day before yesterday, while organizing documents, I came across a similar record." Her voice was strained, like a string ruffled by the wind. "During the Warring States period, when the major lords fought over mines, they deployed the 'Blood Vanguard Riders,' their horses with iron hooves and their sword sheaths inlaid with magnets, specifically to break through the chakra barriers of ninjas."

Grandma Chiyo's cane tip was finally pulled out of the sand.

Her wrinkled hand pressed on Bai Ye's shoulder, the pressure three times heavier than usual: "Let's go." The old woman's voice was like sandpaper rubbing against pottery shards, "Back to the village."

The shield array here won't hold for long; the mineral vein's energy has just been sealed, and it's at its weakest point. She turned to Mei Terumi, "Mizukage-sama, would you mind using your Ice Release to give us a ride?"

Mei Terumi nodded, and the ice spear "clicked" into the ground.

In an instant, dark blue ice spikes burst forth from the sand, unfolding layer by layer like lotus flowers, carrying the five people rapidly towards the direction of Sunagakure.

The wind rushed into Bai Ye's collar. He looked down at the retreating sand dunes and a bitter taste rose in his throat. Three days ago, he was still assassinating a daimyo in the Land of Fire, but now he was going to use Sunagakure as the battlefield. This chain of cause and effect was interlocking, just like the "destiny" that the black-cloaked man spoke of before he died. Only this time, he was determined to hold the chain in his own hands.

As the red sand walls of Sunagakure gradually came into view, Byakuya smelled a familiar scent: a sweet and pungent mixture of cactus juice and dried leeches.

As the guards at the village gate saw the ice platform approaching, they immediately struck a gong. With a clang, Ebizo's figure emerged from the shadows of the city tower, clutching half a piece of uneaten sweet natto in his hand.

"Lady Chiyo!" He jogged up to greet him, a smudge of bean powder on his lips. "I just received a secret letter from Iwagakure saying that the cavalry of the Land of Lightning has crossed the Wind Gorge." He glanced at the tense expressions of the people on the ice platform, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Also... an envoy from the Land of Fire arrived two hours ago, saying he wants to see the 'murderer who killed the daimyo'."

"Let's have a meeting first." Granny Chiyo's cane tapped crisply on the city bricks. "Ebizo, set up the sand table in the intelligence room; Kakashi, have the Anbu bring over the border patrol records from the past three months; Mei Terumi, please contact Kirigakure's communications department to confirm if there's any unusual activity in the Land of Water." She turned to look at Byakuya, a hint of inquiry in her eyes. "You, come with me."

The sea breeze lifted the oil lamp in the intelligence room, and the wick crackled and popped.

The sand table of Sunagakure was filled with small red flags, and Ebizo was fiddling with them with a bamboo stick: "The cavalry of the Land of Lightning are taking the northern route, the earth-element troops of Iwagakure are in the western border mountains, and the most troublesome is the Land of Wind—" His bamboo stick stopped at the southeast corner of the sand table, "Their 'Sandstorm Troops' have already taken control of the oasis trade route and cut off our water supply."

“The countries’ coordination is unusually tight.” Mei Terumi tapped her fingertips on the table, ice crystals forming frost flowers on the wood. “The daimyo of the Land of Fire just died, and it’s as if they planned it all along, simultaneously deploying troops on the border.” She looked up at Byakuya, “Did the daimyo you killed possess something?”

Bai Ye remained silent for a moment.

He recalled the secret letter in the hidden compartment of the daimyo's study in the Land of Fire. The letter was stamped with the emblems of the Land of Lightning, Earth, and Wind, and contained only one sentence: "After the deed is done, the mine will be split 30/70." He had burned the letter then, and the ashes mixed with the daimyo's blood seeped into the cracks in the floor—now, he thought, perhaps that was not the end, but the beginning.

“What they want is the mineral vein,” Granny Chiyo suddenly said.

She had opened the leather notebook she always carried with her at some point. The yellowed pages contained a map of the mineral vein's course. "Fifty years ago, the Second Tsuchikage fought the Third Kazekage for three months over this very mineral vein."

The natural energy in the mine can not only enhance ninja tools, but also...suppress the chakra of tailed beasts. "Her finger pressed heavily on a red dot on the map," she said. "Now the mine is sealed by you, but the other countries don't know. They think the Land of Fire has monopolized the resources, so they're rushing to seize it."

"So the problem now isn't how to defeat the Allied Forces," Kakashi suddenly interjected.

He leaned against the corner of the wall, his Sharingan closed, yet sharper than usual. "How to make various countries believe the mine is abandoned, or... make them feel the price of seizing it is too high."

Chapter 625 Golden Butterfly Stone

Ebizo's bamboo strip fell onto the sand table with a "thud".

He rubbed his hands together, the cunning on his face fading slightly: "I had the reconnaissance team take samples from the mine, and the natural energy on the surface of the ore has indeed weakened."

But the intelligence agencies of various countries aren't fools; they definitely sent sensory-type ninjas, and they could easily find out.

When the meeting was going on late into the night, Yukino burst through the door carrying a stack of ancient books.

Her hairband came undone, and a few stray strands clung to her sweaty forehead. "Found it!" She slammed an ancient book with a three-tomoe design on its cover onto the table. "Ancient sealing techniques mention that by using the 'Golden Butterfly Stone' from the core of a mineral vein in conjunction with the chakra of a living Jinchuriki, one can create a 'false barrier'—making sensory ninjas mistakenly believe that the chakra fluctuations in the target area are fake!"

Bai Ye's breathing suddenly stopped.

He recalled the amber with golden butterfly wings embedded in it from the previous battle. At the time, the man in the black cloak said it was the fuse of the "Slab of Destiny," and now it seemed that it might also be the key to breaking the deadlock.

"What materials are needed?" Grandma Chiyo leaned closer to the book, her reading glasses sliding down to the tip of her nose.

“Fragments of the Golden Butterfly Stone, the blood of the Pillar, and…” Yukino’s finger stopped on a line of small print, and her voice suddenly lowered, “the life soul of the caster.”

The air in the room seemed to freeze.

Mei Terumi's ice crystals cracked open with a "crack," and Ebizo's sweet natto fell onto the sand table and rolled into the pile of small red flags representing the Land of Lightning.

Bai Ye reached out and pressed down on the page of the ancient book.

He could feel the texture of the paper beneath his fingertips, as rough as the lines of fate.

The chain-like pattern rippled across his wrist, burning so intensely it almost bled—a lingering effect of his resonance with the mineral vein, yet it also allowed him to clearly perceive that fragments of the Golden Butterfly Stone were currently lying in his ninja tool pouch, their temperature rising slightly with his heartbeat.

“I’ll do it,” he said.

Grandma Chiyo suddenly grabbed his wrist.

The old man's fingernails almost dug into his skin, but he didn't say anything.

Her gaze swept over the lingering chain marks on his shoulders and neck, over the dark circles under his eyes, and finally settled on his calm eyes—where a fire burned brighter than the natural energy of the mine.

"Prepare the materials first." She released her hand. "Yukino, go and get the Jinchuriki's blood and find Gaara. He's at the training grounds in the north of the village. Ebizo, contact Onoki of Iwagakure and tell him that the secret of the mine can be shared, but he should remain still. Mei Terumi, please use the Mirror Ninjutsu to send a message to the other villages and say that... Sunagakure is willing to act as a mediator."

The group got up and left one after another.

As Mei Terumi passed by Byakuya, the hem of her icy blue skirt brushed against the back of his hand, carrying a chill: "Don't do anything foolish," she whispered. "The ninja world doesn't need a second Madara Uchiha."

Kakashi walked to the door and then turned back.

He pulled a straw from under his headband and put it in his mouth, a faint smile appearing on his lips: "If you need the Sharingan's assistance, I can stay up all night."

When Yukino ran out with the ancient book in her arms, her hair ribbon came undone.

Her footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor, leaving only a muffled "I'll be right back."

Only Byakuya and Granny Chiyo remained in the room.

The old woman reopened the ancient book, the candlelight casting flickering shadows on her face: "Do you know what the sacrifice of a soul means?"

“I know,” Bai Ye said. “The soul was torn to pieces and can never be reincarnated.”

"Then you still-"

“Someone has to write a new script.” Bai Ye interrupted her.

He took out a fragment of the Golden Butterfly Stone from his ninja tool pouch. The amber butterfly wings gleamed warmly in the candlelight. "I was able to seal the Messenger of Destiny before, and this time I can seal the greed of all nations."

Grandma Chiyo suddenly smiled.

Her laughter was like the cracking of an old tree root, tinged with a touch of desolation: "Fifty years ago, Sasori and I thought the same thing." Her fingers gently traced the Golden Butterfly Stone. "Back then, we wanted to change the fate of Sunagakure, but...sigh." She looked up at Byakuya, her eyes shining brighter than ever before. "But you and that child are different."

There is light in your eyes, not the light of prejudice, but... the light of the living.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the window.

"Report!" A Sunagakure ANBU ninja burst through the door, his breathing heavy and labored beneath his mask. "The Northern Reconnaissance Team reports that the Allied Forces' vanguard has crossed the Ghost Cry Gorge and is expected to arrive ten miles outside Sunagakure Village by noon tomorrow!"

Bai Ye's fingers tightened on the golden butterfly stone.

He could feel the natural energy within the fragments resonating, as if responding to the decision he was about to make.

Yukino's shout echoed down the corridor, mingled with Gaara's tailed beast chakra fluctuations, hot and clear.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the village, the son of the daimyo of the Land of Fire stood in the moonlight.

He wore a hunting robe embroidered with gold thread, and his father's favorite short sword hung at his waist, the bloodstains on the scabbard still untouched.

He gazed at the lights in the intelligence room, a cold smile playing on his lips. He pulled a carrier pigeon from his pocket—a secret letter for the daimyo of the Land of Lightning, containing only one sentence: "Byakuya is in Sunagakure. Come immediately."

Chapter 626 Seeking Cooperation

The candlelight in the Sunagakure village council hall was lifted by the draft, casting a flickering shadow on the sheepskin map.

Bai Ye pressed his knuckles against the table, and the temperature of the golden butterfly stone fragment under his fingertips suddenly rose—the aftershocks of the allied vanguard crossing Ghost Cry Gorge, as reported by the secret service, had not yet subsided, and then hurried footsteps broke the silence under the corridor.

"Report—!" A Chunin, panting heavily, burst through the half-closed door, his headband askew beside his ear. "Urgent report from the Northern Outpost!"

The vanguard of the allied forces changed course to the Red Sand Road, bypassing the thunderstorm zone of Ghost Cry Gorge. They are now less than a hundred li from the village entrance and are expected to reach the village walls within two days!

A thin crack appeared in the teacup on the table with a "click".

Granny Chiyo's withered fingers gripped the back of the chair, her knuckles white as bone china: "Akasago-do?"

That was a secret path dug by the Iwagakure army during the Third Shinobi World War; even the old maps of Sunagakure marked it as a 'dead end'—"She suddenly stopped, her cloudy eyes narrowing sharply, "How did they know?"

Ebizo was stuffing the last half of a fried tofu into his mouth when he heard this and spat it out with a "pfft," splattering oil onto the hem of his kimono, which was decorated with sand scorpions: "Could it be... that we have a traitor among us?" His fat chin twitched as he secretly glanced in the direction of Byakuya.

Mei Terumi's ice-blue armor gleamed coldly in the candlelight. She tapped the water fan at her waist with her fingertips, the ice crystals on the fan ribs making a crisp, crackling sound: "Two days."

Enough to form a battle line of five thousand men, enough to put five thousand knives to one's throat. She looked up at Bai Ye, a dark undercurrent churning in her icy blue pupils. "You said you would seal away the greed of all nations; now greed has come with knives."

Kakashi's eyes, which had been half-closed, suddenly opened, and his Sharingan flashed a dark red light under his headband.

He drew a kunai from his waist and twirled it in his palm; the sizzling sound of metal scraping against skin was much like a taut bowstring. "I need to probe the Allied vanguard." Straw slipped from the corner of his mouth. "But... we need to deal with the immediate problem first."

Before the words were finished, a guard's shout rang out from outside the courtyard: "Halt! No one may enter without permission—"

A figure embroidered with gold thread passed through the moon gate, and moonlight flowed down along the gold thread of the hunting robe, like congealed blood splashed on the ground.

The young man's short knife scabbard was still stained with dark brown blood, which smelled fishy in the night.

He raised his hand and pushed aside the Jonin blocking his way, his movement as light as brushing aside a fallen leaf: "I am the current Daimyo of the Land of Fire, Uchiha Sasuke."

The air in the council chamber froze instantly.

Grandma Chiyo dug her nails deep into her palms.

Fifty years ago, she had seen too many eyes like these—like poisoned obsidian, dazzlingly bright, yet cold enough to freeze one's soul.

When Kazekage Rasa died at the hands of Sasori's puppet, he had the same look in his eyes, hiding ambition and scheming.

Cold sweat seeped from Ebizo's mound of fat. He tugged at his collar and chuckled dryly, "Young Master Daming?"

Your father... we just received the tragic news the day before yesterday, and the mourning period hasn't even ended yet.

“My father was assassinated.” Sasuke’s voice was like a blade immersed in ice water. “Who was the murderer?” He suddenly turned to Byakuya, his eyes like two poisoned kunai. “Someone said they saw a ninja wearing a black haori leave a golden butterfly mark on the castle tower of the Daimyo’s mansion.

Bai Ye lowered his eyes and stared at the golden butterfly stone in his palm.

The natural energy within the fragments is surging wildly, as if responding to some kind of provocation.

He could hear his own heartbeat, one beat, two beats, pounding painfully against his ribs—this was a trap, he should have realized it sooner.

The death of the Fire Country Daimyo was meant to lure out the snake, and now the snake has arrived, carrying even more poisonous bait.

“I’ve come to seek cooperation.” Sasuke stepped forward, the bloodstains from his short sword smearing across the table, leaving a menacing red dot on the sheepskin map. “The Land of Fire cannot be in chaos, nor can the ninja world.”

"I need the support of Sunagakure, I need... the help of a ninja capable of sealing destiny." His gaze swept over Byakuya, then over the water fan at Mei Terumi's waist. "Of course, I'll offer enough incentives."

Chapter 627 The Revision Plan

Mei Terumi's water fan unfolded with a "whoosh," and ice crystals condensed into ice spikes on the fan surface: "Cheers?"

Your father's dagger?

Or is it what you just wrote in your secret letter to the Land of Lightning: "White Night is in Sunagakure, come quickly?"

Sasuke's pupils suddenly contracted.