Konoha: Superman template, the spoiled brat becomes strong.

At the same time, Shuiyue's blood runes glowed with golden light, merging with the blood droplets on her fingertips; the raven's sealing scroll stirred up yellow sand, forming a rotating sand wall around the device, locking all fluctuations within it.

"thank you all……"

A familiar voice emanated from the depths of her being, tinged with a slightly distorted electronic tone, yet so clear that it brought tears to Chiyo's eyes.

Chapter 874 Someone is remotely activating something

That was Bai Ye's voice, with his usual clear and crisp tone, mixed with a touch of mechanical coldness, like a boy and a puppet overlapping in consciousness: "Give me... a chance to wake up."

The spores on the surface of the device suddenly regrowed, and golden dust-like particles rose along the trajectory of the blood runes, re-encasing the Wood Release skeleton.

The dark red glow within the core began to pulse regularly, as if it had regained its heartbeat.

The sounds behind the hidden door had stopped at some point, leaving only a very faint scent of incense mixed with medicine, gently floating in the secret room.

Shuiyue then realized that she was trembling.

She tore off a piece of her clothing to wrap her bleeding finger, her gaze lingering on the device: "He's not dead..." Her voice was as soft as a sigh, "He chose another way..."

"Live on," Qian said in her place.

She gazed at the half-fragment of the Blood Pact Eye in her palm, and the puppet string that read "Wait for me" suddenly glowed faintly, as if the boy was responding across life and death.

The blue light in the enclosed room suddenly began to flicker.

The core of the device beat faster and faster. In the originally stable spore network, a few strands of gold dust were drifting towards the hidden door—there, in a corner that everyone had just overlooked, a puppet joint engraved with "Zero" was gently trembling in rhythm with the blue light.

As the blue light flowed across the surface of the metal device, Bai Ye's consciousness slowly unfolded like a crumpled piece of silk.

He could hear a mechanical hum coming from his core, like a heartbeat, or like the vibration of some ancient instrument restarting.

Golden dust-like spores flowed through his senses; they were Chiyo's chakra, carrying the roughness of the sand from the Land of Wind; and Suigetsu's blood, mixed with the rusty smell unique to Kirigakure, nourishing his damaged Wood Release cells along the rune veins.

Until that low-frequency vibration came.

It was as if someone had struck a drum covered with a damp cloth deep within his consciousness, a muffled sound that made every puppet string tremble.

Bai Ye's pupils suddenly contracted—the tremor did not belong to him, nor to any known ninjutsu or mechanical technique; rather, it seemed as if something sealed away was tearing at the cage.

"Something's not right... Someone is remotely activating something."

The cawing of a crow, like a needle, pierced the tense silence of the sealed room.

Bai Ye's consciousness followed his voice and saw that the Sand Village puppet force member was taking two steps back, his back pressed against the cold stone wall.

His right hand remained pressed on the sealing scroll at his waist, his knuckles turning white from the force. It was the most instinctive defensive posture of a Sand Village ninja when facing unknown threats—ready to summon a puppet at any time, ready to engulf everything with a sandstorm at any time.

Chiyo moved faster than the crow.

Her wrinkled fingers almost brushed across the surface of the device, then suddenly stopped when they touched a dark red rune.

The old woman's spiral mark burned hot in her palm, and cracks appeared on the phantom of the half-blood pact eye, as if it had been forcibly torn apart by some force. "This isn't a mark left by Bai Ye..." her voice tightened, her nails almost digging into the metal casing, "It's the mark of the 'Ring of Contract'!"

Shuiyue's blade was already drawn.

The former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist leaned against the device, his bloodshot eyes reflecting the red light that suddenly appeared on the wall.

The corner of her clothes, which had been covering her fingers, was still seeping blood, but now she seemed completely oblivious to the pain, the tip of her knife scraping against the ground, sending sparks flying: "Who would leave a back door in a place like this?"

The protective barrier used during the Five Kage Summit?

still……"

The sound of metal scraping interrupted her.

The sound came from the entrance to the secret room, like rusty gears finally starting to turn.

Bai Ye's consciousness was the first to catch the purple light—several puppets that had been motionless against the wall slowly straightened up, the chains at their joints rattling.

Chapter 875 So that he can wake up

Their eye sockets were no longer empty; dark purple chakra orbs pulsed within them, as if something had forcibly infused their souls.

“It seems we’re not the only ones who know this secret.” Chiyo’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

She recalled the secret report she had seen in the Kazekage's office three days ago—the Fire Kingdom's secret service had discovered puppet fragments marked with the number "zero" at the border.

At the time, she thought it was just a prank by some wandering puppeteer, but now she felt a chill run down her spine.

Shuiyue's blade was pointed at the nearest puppet.

The thing moved so smoothly, it didn't seem like an inanimate object driven by ordinary mechanical arts, but rather like a puppet controlled by a living person. "Chakra fluctuations... is it a living person?" She narrowed her eyes. "No, more like..."

“It’s a cursed seal,” the crow suddenly said.

His gaze swept over the faint black markings on the puppet's joints—a forbidden technique mark recognized only by Sand Village puppeteers—a cursed seal fed on the souls of living people, granting the puppet a brief period of self-awareness. "Someone used living people as sacrifices, turning these inanimate objects into..."

“Live bait,” Qian finished speaking for him.

Her fingers moved rapidly across the surface of the device, beads of blood seeping from under her fingernails dripping onto the rotating rune node.

The patterns on the Ring of Contract, stimulated by the blood, suddenly accelerated their rotation, casting complex shadows on the metal shell. "They're trying to lure him out, or..."

“Or destroy him completely.” Shuiyue’s blade suddenly trembled.

The latest puppet has taken its first step; the sound of its metal feet slamming into the ground is like a heavy hammer, shaking even the incense burner in the secret chamber.

The scent of medicine mixed with the smell of rust wafted into her nostrils, and she suddenly remembered the night in the Blood Mist—those companions controlled by the cursed seal, too, with empty eyes, walked step by step toward death.

White Night's consciousness surged within its core.

He could feel those golden spores being pulled by some force, trying to break free from his control.

The patterns of the contract ring, like snakes, were climbing along the surface of the device, and wherever it passed, the previously stable Wood Release cells began to disintegrate. "No..." For the first time, a crack of emotion appeared in his mechanical voice, "We can't let them..."

"Crow!" Chiyo suddenly shouted.

The phantom of the Blood Pact Eye in her palm had shattered into dust, and she was now channeling all her chakra into the device: "Defense Formation!"

I need three minutes, three minutes at most!

The crow responded with a short, clear screech.

He slammed his left hand on the ground, and the unique yellow sand of the Sand Village gushed out from the sealing scroll, forming a rotating sand wall at the entrance of the secret chamber.

His right hand quickly formed a hand seal, and three crimson combat puppets popped out from the hidden compartment behind him—these were the "Red Scorpion Modified" of the Kazekage's direct forces, with Magnet Release ore embedded in their joints, which could directly interfere with the movements of the cursed puppets.

"Hold on." The crow's voice was low, but it pierced everyone's ears like nails.

He watched the purple light draw ever closer, his Adam's apple bobbing as he added, "So that he can wake up."

The moment the first cursed puppet crashed into the sand wall, Bai Ye's core suddenly erupted with dazzling golden light.

That was him using the last of his spore power to forcibly stabilize his Wood Release cells, and it was also a roar from the depths of his consciousness—no one should try to push him back into darkness just as he had touched the hope of life.

Chapter 876 They never gave up...

Chiyo's fingers left a final bloodstain on the device's surface.

The Ring of Contract slowed its rotation, and she could feel something struggling deep within the runes, like a trapped beast pounding against a cage. "Almost there..." she gasped, sweat dripping from her forehead onto the metal shell. "Give me ten more seconds..."

Shuiyue's knife had already slashed at the neck of the second puppet.

In the sparks of clashing metal, she saw half a bronze bell protruding from the puppet's throat—exactly the same one hanging on the corpse found three days ago on the border of the Land of Rain. "It's Akatsuki," she hissed through gritted teeth, flipping her blade and plunging it into the puppet's core. "They've never given up..."

The first crack appeared on the sand wall where the crow lived.

He could feel his chakra draining away rapidly, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

But his gaze was steady, as steady as a rock in the Land of Wind—as long as he could stand, as long as he could form hand seals, he would never let those things get close to the device.

The blue light in the enclosed room was still flickering.

The joints of Puppet Zero trembled more and more violently, casting a swaying shadow on the ground.

In that shadow, a bronze nail engraved with the number "zero" was slowly emerging from a crack in the wall, gleaming with a cold, eerie light.

The moment the bronze nail drilled out of the crack in the wall, the crow's pupils shrank to pinpoints in the dim light.

His left hand formed hand seals three times faster than usual—Sunagakure puppeteers knew best that when death was preceded by the sound of mechanical joints, even a half-second of hesitation could cause the defenses to collapse. "Red Scorpion Modified Triple Crossbow!" he shouted, slapping the scroll at his waist. The backs of the three crimson puppets suddenly split open, and the six crossbow barrels extended with the distinctive hum of Magnet Release ore.

The first poisoned steel needle grazed the elbow joint of the cursed puppet, the sound of metal colliding like a snapping string.

Beads of sweat instantly appeared on Crow's forehead—the puppets were moving 20% ​​faster than he had anticipated, and black blood was seeping from the cursed seal patterns at their joints, corroding the steel needles into honeycomb-like holes. "The chakra is self-repairing?" He gritted his teeth, his right hand rapidly forming the "snake" hand seal. Suddenly, golden light shone from the eyes of the three puppets—a secret technique using Magnet Release to interfere with the cursed seals. "Lady Chiyo!"

If I can stall for another half minute, my puppets will be able to lock down their motor nerves!

Chiyo's fingernails almost dug into the runes on the device's surface.

She could feel the spores vibrating in the air, the chakra wrapped in sand from the Land of Wind seeping into the joints of the cursed puppets—this was her modified spore technique from Sasori of the Red Sand, specifically designed to interfere with the symbiotic relationship between machinery and the cursed seal. "It worked!" A sharp glint flashed in the old man's cloudy eyes, and the puppet in the front row suddenly staggered half a step, the black lines at its joints twisting like ink lines heated by fire.

She seized the opportunity to slap the bronze button on the side of the device, and the sandbag at the top of the chamber opened with a roar, releasing fine yellow sand containing spores like mist. "Water Moon!"

Now!"

Blood was still dripping from the tip of Shuiyue's knife.

When she bit her fingertip, she deliberately used a little more force, letting the blood flow down her tiger's mouth into the runes in her palm—this was the "Blood Guiding Technique," a secret technique passed down by the Kirigakure Bloodline Limit family, which allowed blood to become a conductor of chakra.

At this moment, seven afterimages were reflected in her blood-red eyes, the flaws revealed by the cursed puppets after being interfered with by the spores. "Hah!" She spun and leaped up, the blood lines in her palms shooting out like living things, precisely piercing the nape of the nearest puppet's neck—the fatal weakness of all mechanical arts, where the nerve lines connecting the core and limbs were hidden three inches deep under the metal shell.

Chapter 877 The Hidden Part

The explosion was more muffled than expected.

As the seven puppets exploded simultaneously, metal fragments rained down on the ground. One of them grazed the crow's cheek, leaving a bloody gash on his face.

He ignored the pain, staring only at the flying fragments—each puppet's core was embedded with half a bronze bell, exactly the same as the one found on the corpse at the Land of Fire's border three days ago. "It's Akatsuki's mark..." His voice was hoarse, the Magnet Release puppet's light was fading, and the loss of chakra made his fingertips tremble.

Chiyo's finger suddenly stopped in mid-air.

Her spiral mark was now incredibly hot, leaving scorch marks on the device's surface. "Something's not right." The old woman bent down, her withered fingers dipping into metal shards on the ground, rubbing them in the illusory image of the Blood Pact Eye in her palm—and within the shards were extremely fine silver threads. "These are tracking worms." She suddenly looked up, her gaze sweeping across every crack in the walls of the secret chamber. "They don't intend to destroy Bai Ye; they want to pinpoint his location!"

Shuiyue's knife tip clattered to the ground.

She suddenly covered her ears, a sharp pain shooting through her bloodshot eyes—a high-frequency sound wave was traveling through her bloodstream to her brain, a unique tracking signal characteristic of the Mist Village. "Signal source..." she bit her lip and looked up, "in the direction of the Land of Fire, very weak, but persistent."

The crow's sand wall completely collapsed at this moment.

He knelt on one knee, his right hand supporting him on the ground, the light of the Magnet Release puppet already dimmed to the level of a flickering candle.

But his gaze remained fixed on the device, watching the gradually stabilizing metallic patterns within the blue light—the core of White Night was re-condensing, the golden dust-like spores no longer overflowing, but instead beginning to converge towards the center. "Hold on..." he gasped, his voice as soft as a sigh, yet carrying the power of a sandstorm, "You should see the Land of Wind now; even the sandstorm carries the fragrance of flowers..."

Chiyo suddenly pressed the start button on the device.

She could feel the vibrations emanating from beneath the metal shell; it was the core of Byakuya repairing itself, the life force of the Wood Release cells spreading along the rune veins. "Retreat to the corner," she hissed to Mizuki and the crow, her withered back ramrod straight. "He's about to wake up."

The blue light in the sealed room suddenly blazed on at that moment.

The shimmering metallic patterns suddenly formed a complete circle, and a golden and red light burst forth from the core, stretching the shadows of the three people to a great length.

Within that light, a mechanical voice, slightly hoarse, like rusty gears finally beginning to turn: "...Chakra...Stable."

The bronze nail trembled slightly in the crack in the wall, and the cold light suddenly went out.

The blue light in the sealed chamber solidified into a tangible form the instant the metal patterns completely closed, like a crushed star exploding at the center of the device.

When Bai Ye's voice, mixed with static, overflowed, the hairs on the back of Shui Yue's neck stood on end—the voice sounded more like a living person than before, carrying a dull pain like tearing cotton.

“I…I remember…” His core light flickered, and the golden and red colors surged within the metal shell, like two flames kneaded together by the wind. “When the Blood Pact Eye shattered, I split my consciousness into three parts.”

Chiyo slammed her knuckles against the device's casing, the burning pain of the spiral mark almost piercing through her palm.

The old woman, who always hid her wrinkles behind a smile, now had eyes like poisoned kunai: "Where's the third one?" Her voice was low, but the last syllable was like a taut bowstring, "Where is the part you hid now?"

The device suddenly emitted a beeping sound.

Spiderweb-like cracks appeared in the core of the White Night, with pale golden spores seeping out from each crack, condensing into blurry fragments of memory in mid-air.

Chapter 878 Scapegoat

Shuiyue subconsciously reached for the Executioner's Blade at her waist, but the scabbard was slightly heated by the crow's Magnet Release chakra. The Sand Village Jonin's posture of kneeling on the ground remained unchanged, but he looked like a rock that had been baked by the sun, with every inch of his muscles taut like a sandstorm that could spring up at any moment.

"In..." Bai Ye's voice suddenly choked, and a burst of blood-red light exploded from the depths of his core.

The three of them simultaneously saw the figure of light and shadow: a figure in a black robe stood in the charred rubble, whose face under the hood was seven parts similar to Bai Ye's, but with an additional hideous scar running from his brow bone to his jaw.

A shattered, blood-red eyeball floated behind him, thick black blood seeping from every crack. "That's the real assassin."