Konoha: Superman template, the spoiled brat becomes strong.

"Sir, Agent Hamura says he wants to discuss the 'Loyalty Potion' with you privately."

Ebizo's voice drifted in from outside the door, hoarse like a sandstorm: "Tell him to change the tea. This pot of Biluochun has been laced with three poisonous scale powders." A gust of wind blew as the door was pushed open, causing the list on the desk to rustle.

Hamura Shinobu's moon-white brocade robe swept across the threshold, the shattered jade pendant at his waist gleaming coldly in the candlelight. "Advisor Ebizo is indeed astute, but the poisonous scale powder is meant to make our conversation more frank." He tapped the sandalwood box on the table with his fingertips. "You proposed using the puppet virus to modify loyalty potions. The Land of Wind needs to rely on us, but the Land of Fire..."

“We need an excuse to shift the blame.” Hai Lao settled down in his chair, his wrinkled hands stroking his teacup. “For example, if the Wind Village suddenly attacks the Fire Country’s border and kills a few insignificant merchants, the Wind Country’s dependence will turn into panic.”

Hamura Shinobu's pupils contracted sharply, then he laughed out loud: "As expected, the advisor understands me."

Spies have already been dispatched to the border of Sand Village; in three days, a group of 'Wind Village ninja' will rob a Fire Country caravan—at that time, tell me, will Sand Village protect me or you?

Ebizo's fingers paused on the teacup, causing fine ripples to spread across the surface. "Acting sir, impressive skills." He looked up, a smile playing on his lips. "However, you've overlooked one variable."

Chapter 782 Collusion between Traitorous Ninjas

The crows outside the courtyard cawed again, this time mixed with the scraping sound of metal—they were the modified intelligence birds.

Cold sweat seeped from Bai Ye's palms; the temperature of the Red Sand Core was scorching high.

Just as he was about to leave the dark room, he suddenly sensed a chakra fluctuation unique to snakes spreading from outside the mansion.

The fluctuation, like a poisoned soft sword, slid along the ground into the study, condensing into a purple mist at his feet.

"Lord Byakuya," Orochimaru's voice came from the mist, carrying a distinctive hissing sound, "How have you been?"

As the purple mist dissipated, the serpent advisor leaned against the window frame, his long, silvery-white hair cascading down like a waterfall, a half-living white snake coiled around his fingertips: "I know you have traces of the First Hokage's will within you, it's devouring your chakra, isn't it?" He licked his lips. "I can help you stabilize it, in exchange..."

“You want the embryo of the puppet heart.” Bai Ye interrupted him, and the first seedling tightened its grip on his neck. “Three years ago in Otogakure, you secretly looked at Sasori’s Puppet Notes.”

Orochimaru's pupils shrank to vertical slits as the white snake suddenly darted toward Byakuya's wrist.

He was prepared; as he dodged to the side, he flicked the vines in his sleeve, weaving a pale golden net on the ground.

The moment the net touched the white snake, it glowed blue—it was puppet silk enhanced with the First Hokage's chakra, a summoning technique specifically designed to counter snakes.

"It seems you were prepared." Orochimaru took two steps back, the white snake retracting into his sleeve. "However, I still must remind you, Uchiha Fugaku tonight..."

“I will receive your secret letter.” Byakuya’s voice suddenly turned cold. “A secret letter about investigating my whereabouts.” He ran his fingertip over the name “Uchiha Fugaku” on the list. “Hamura Shinobu’s sword will eventually fall on Konoha.”

Orochimaru's laughter, mixed with the hissing of his snake tongue, drifted into the night.

As his figure disappeared outside the courtyard, Bai Ye took out the Crimson Sand Core from his pocket and engraved a spell mark on his palm—a mark to lure the snake into its hole; the trap had been set.

The sound of the watchman striking his clapper came from outside the window; it was the third watch.

Bai Ye carefully tucked the list into his bosom. As he turned around, he caught a glimpse of the unburnt candle on the desk, casting a shadow on the ashes—the outline of that shadow looked remarkably like the Uchiha clan's fan pattern.

In the forest on the outskirts of the Land of Fire, Fugaku Uchiha stood under the moonlight, the sealing wax on the secret letter in his hand still warm.

The letter was written in Hamura Shinobu's distinctive, slender, golden script: "Baiye has colluded with a rogue ninja. We request the clan head's assistance in investigating his whereabouts." His fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the letter, the clan crest on his headband gleaming coldly in the moonlight. "Baiye...that name...I feel like I've heard it somewhere before..."

The cawing of night ravens came from afar, this time with a metallic scraping sound.

Fugaku Uchiha's knuckles turned white as he gripped the secret letter, the lingering warmth of the sealing wax seeping through the thin paper and searing his palm. The name "White Night" surged through his memory, and he suddenly recalled the strange occurrences reported by the clan's ANBU three days prior—residual puppet threads in the western forest, and chakra fluctuations carrying the subtle aura of the First Hokage's Wood Release. "So that wasn't a test from Kirigakure..." He chuckled softly, his Sharingan beneath his clan crest headband slowly rotating, its dark red pupils reflecting the four elegant characters "Assist in Investigation" on the letter.

When the moonlight was partially obscured by clouds, he had already rung the bronze bell in the clan's secret chamber.

Seven dark figures emerged from behind the pillars, all elite members of the Uchiha clan, their Sharingan's three tomoe trembling slightly. "Go to the western border of Konoha and set up an observation post every five miles." Fugaku tossed the secret letter into the brazier, the orange-red flames licking the words "White Night." "Use your Sharingan to monitor all suspicious chakra, especially traces of puppetry." The clansman at the head of the group knelt on one knee: "Should we inform the Hokage?"

“No need for now.” Fugaku stared at the curled ashes in the brazier, his Adam’s apple bobbing twice. “Hamura Shinobu’s letter mentioned ‘collusion with rogue ninjas.’ If the Konoha higher-ups intervene too soon…” He didn’t finish his sentence, his Sharingan suddenly shrinking to the tip of a needle—the sound of crows flapping their wings came from outside the courtyard. These were not ordinary night crows; their tail feathers were wrapped with extremely fine puppet threads.

Meanwhile, twenty miles away on the border of Konoha, Kakashi Hatake was speeding along, stepping on the treetops.

His headband slid down half an inch, revealing the Sharingan in his left eye, the three tomoe slowly rotating with the flow of chakra. "Something's not right." He suddenly stopped, his fingertip pressing against the tree trunk, where half a golden thread was embedded in the bark. "This puppet thread..." Three days ago, when he fought Byakuya, the vines in Byakuya's sleeve had wrapped around his kunai, and at that time he had sensed the warmth of the thread carrying wood release chakra.

Chapter 783 The Poisonous Mist That Breaks the Illusion

"Kakashi, Jonin?" A patrolling squad of Genin poked their heads out from the woods below. "Any findings?" Kakashi pulled off his headband to cover his Sharingan, flicked his finger, and the half-thread turned to dust. "Go inform the Third Hokage. There might be some unusual puppetry activity in the Western Region." He gazed at the deepening night, his Adam's apple bobbing, but ultimately he didn't utter the name "Byakuya"—that ghostly figure in the shadows of the castle tower always reminded him of the bloody stench of the Uchiha Clan massacre.

At this moment, Bai Ye was hiding behind a broken pillar in the ruins of the Fire Country Shrine, with vines trembling gently in his sleeves.

He could clearly sense Kakashi's conversation with the Third Hokage: "...The puppet ribbons have Wood Release characteristics, possibly related to the First Hokage's bloodline..." A chill ran down his neck as the First Hokage's seedlings touched him. He chuckled softly, "As expected, Kakashi's vigilance is higher than I imagined." His fingertips traced a shallow line on the ground, the heat of the Red Sand Core spreading from his palm. "But this is even better—Fugaku's Sharingan forces, Orochimaru's snake swarm, plus Konoha's vigilance..."

The moon over the ruins of the shrine was suddenly completely obscured by dark clouds.

The vines of the White Night suddenly straightened, and a chakra fluctuation unique to snakes came from the southeast—Orochimaru had arrived.

Almost simultaneously, seven dark red lights lit up in the forest to the northwest, the power of the Uchiha Sharingan.

His pupils contracted slightly as he swiftly formed hand seals between the broken pillars. Puppet threads emerged from the ground like a spiderweb, weaving a semi-transparent net in the center of the ruins.

“An interesting situation.” Orochimaru’s voice came from the left, his snake-like eyes gleaming with excitement in the purple mist. “The Uchiha Sharingan, the First Hokage’s puppet threads, and…” He licked his lips, “the mark you left on Kakashi.” Before he finished speaking, seven black figures leaped out of the forest, their Sharingan’s three tomoe simultaneously transforming into the Four Symbols Formation, locking Orochimaru and Byakuya in place.

"Retreat!" the leading Uchiha clansman shouted, but Orochimaru's white snake had already darted toward the nearest clansman.

Just as the Sharingan's genjutsu was activated, the white snake suddenly split into hundreds of smaller snakes, each wrapped in pale green chakra—a poisonous mist that could break genjutsu.

The clansman's pupils contracted sharply. Just as he was about to form hand seals to counterattack, the puppet net at his feet suddenly emitted a golden light, locking his chakra flow tightly.

The explosion occurred at that moment.

Bai Ye flung out the puppet doll he was holding. It was a wooden puppet that had been sacrificed with his hair and blood, with a fragment of the Crimson Sand Core embedded in its heart.

Amidst the intense flames, Orochimaru's snake swarm was blown away by the shockwave, and the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan members was temporarily closed by the intense light.

Under the cover of smoke, Bai Ye rushed towards a corner of the ruins, where there was a bluestone slab engraved with the emblem of the Land of Fire—the entrance to the underground passage.

The passageway beneath the stone slabs was damp and cold, with groundwater seeping through the walls, forming dark puddles on the ground.

As soon as Bai Ye jumped down, a muffled sound came from above as the stone slab closed.

He pulled out a tinderbox from his pocket. In the dim light, fine runes appeared on the wall—marks left by the First Hokage when he sealed the earth's ley lines. "So the core of the Land of Fire's earth ley lines is hidden beneath the ruins of the shrine..." His fingertips traced the runes, then suddenly stopped—the chakra fluctuations on the wall were wrong; they weren't simple Wood Release, but mixed with the sticky feeling unique to the Puppet Virus.

A rumbling sound came from deep within the passage, like some enormous creature writhing.

The red sand core of the White Night suddenly became hot, and vines sprouted from its sleeves, weaving a protective net in front of it.

As the chakra fluctuation approached, his pupils contracted violently—it was the Puppet Virus, but it was more viscous than he had seen before, with fine Sharingan patterns floating on its surface, and it was actually absorbing the Wood Release chakra from his vines!

“So that’s how it is…” he muttered to himself, the first seedling throbbing wildly around his neck. “The natural energy of the ley lines, the genjutsu of the Sharingan, and the puppet threads I left behind…” The virus suddenly split into a thin stream that wrapped around his wrist. He spun around to avoid it and crashed into the wall, sending pebbles tumbling down.

Amidst the swirling dust, he glimpsed a blurry opening at the end of the passage, and could faintly hear the sound of wind coming from the direction of Konoha.

“This game of chess is indeed not over yet.” Bai Ye wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and pressed the Crimson Sand Core to his chest. “But it’s my turn to make a move.” He stared at the cave entrance at the end of the passage, the vines retracting back into his sleeves and condensing into a thin knife in his palm. “Konoha Forbidden Ground…” Before he could finish speaking, a gust of wind suddenly blew in from the cave entrance, carrying the unique scent of Konoha grass, mixed with faint fluctuations of sealing techniques.

Chapter 784 Basic Illusion Technique

The dampness from the ley lines seeped into his back through his collar. As Bai Ye's knuckles pressed against the cracks in the bluestone slabs, he used the leverage to flip himself onto the ground. Suddenly, the vines in his sleeves tightened—that was the Red Sand Core giving him a warning.

He quickly curled up and rolled into a clump of bushes, the morning dew on the leaves dampening the bloodstains on his forehead, and when he looked up, he was met with a sea of ​​crimson.

Seven Sharingan phantoms floated among the treetops ten meters high, the tomoe in their pupils slowly rotating with the wind.

Below each phantom image hung faint chakra threads, weaving a semi-transparent net on the ground.

“Sharingan Vigilance Network…” Byakuya licked his bitter lips, and as his Adam’s apple bobbed, a red mark was burned onto the neck of the First Hokage’s sapling.

He remembered seeing a similar technique in Sunagakure three years ago; it was a secret ninjutsu used by the Uchiha clan to monitor abnormal chakra fluctuations.

But why would it appear on the edge of Konoha's forbidden area?

The tree canopy suddenly trembled slightly, and a maple leaf twirled and landed at his feet.

Fine water droplets condensed on the leaf surface, but evaporated into a pale purple mist the moment they touched the ground—a sign that the illusion was broken.

Bai Ye's breathing suddenly stopped as he finally saw the pattern of the warning net: each chakra strand was wrapped in a translucent mucus that shimmered with the eerie blue of the puppet virus in the morning light.

"Fugaku...so you've been researching this all along." He murmured softly, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the puppet silk on his sleeve.

Three months ago at the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Fire, Orochimaru intercepted a portion of the virus sample he left behind. Could it have been intercepted by the Uchiha clan at that time?

"Shh-"

The sound of something cutting through the air came from the left.

Bai Ye instinctively rolled to the side, but his lower back slammed into a protruding rock.

Amidst the excruciating pain, he caught a glimpse of a slender figure. The hem of the dark green uniform was lifted by the wind, revealing a kunai pouch tied to the calf—it was Uchiha Itachi.

The twelve-year-old boy knelt on one knee, his Sharingan slowly rotating in his pupils.

His right hand rested lightly on the ground, with three kunai floating at his fingertips, and the frequency of his chakra flow carried a clear sense of probing.

“Outsider.” Itachi’s voice was like a needle immersed in ice water. “Unauthorized entry into Konoha’s forbidden area violates Article 17 of the Land of Fire’s Ninja Law.”

Bai Ye propped himself up on the rock, a half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth: "Little brother, you should first make sure you're not qualified to ask me anything."

Itachi raised an eyebrow slightly and quickly formed a hand seal with his left hand.

Bai Ye's retina was suddenly covered in blood red, and his consciousness was plunged into a swamp—it was the rudimentary illusion "Oboro".

He could clearly feel Itachi's chakra trying to alter his five senses, but it was repelled by a warm barrier the moment it touched his sea of ​​consciousness.

That was the Wood Release chakra of the first seedling, crawling all over his body along the puppet threads.

“Interesting.” Bai Ye’s fingertips trembled slightly, and the puppet threads on his sleeve sprang out as if they were alive, wrapping around Itachi’s chakra threads in the opposite direction.

The boy's pupils contracted sharply, and the next second, a scene from when he was three years old suddenly appeared in his field of vision: under the cherry blossom tree in the Uchiha clan's territory, his mother was combing his black hair with a wooden comb.

"Mother..." Itachi murmured softly, his Sharingan momentarily halting its rotation.

Taking advantage of the opening, Bai Ye flashed behind Itachi like a ghost, placing his palm on the pressure point on the back of the boy's neck.

The illusion dissipated instantly, and Itachi was shocked to find that all his kunai had fallen to the ground, while the other person's fingertips were pressed against his Adam's apple.

"What has your father been researching lately?" Bai Ye asked softly, as if coaxing a lost child.

Chapter 785 Fugaku's Kaleidoscope

Itachi's eyelashes trembled violently as his Sharingan reformed into three tomoe.

Just as Bai Ye thought he was about to rebel, the boy suddenly showed a childlike bewilderment: "Father said... the Puppet Virus can make the Sharingan evolve..."

Before he could finish speaking, Itachi suddenly bit his tongue, and the smell of blood instantly dispelled the remaining illusion.

He leaped backward swiftly, cold sweat clinging to his face as he slicked back his bangs: "You used an illusion on me!"

"You attacked first." Bai Ye opened his hand, revealing a puppet thread as thin as a mosquito's leg in his palm. "And what you just said was probably the truth, wasn't it?"

The weasel's pupils contracted to pinpoints.

He suddenly noticed the vine pattern peeking out from the other person's cuff, which was strikingly similar to the illustrations in the "Puppet Virus Research Notes" scroll in his father's study three days ago.

Just as they were about to ask further questions, fine grains of sand suddenly rose from the ground and condensed into a sand ball between the two of them.

"Baiye, listen." Chiyo's voice came from the sand sphere, with the hoarseness unique to the Land of Wind, "The Puppet Virus mutants resonate with the Sharingan. While they devour natural energy, they stimulate the evolution of the pupils... but that's not evolution, it's mutation."

The sand ball shattered with a "pop," and tiny grains of sand entered Bai Ye's nasal cavity.

As he gazed at the Uchiha clan crest gradually becoming clearer behind Itachi, he suddenly recalled the Sharingan pattern virus he had seen in the passage—it turned out that Fugaku had been using the virus to stimulate the Sharingan of his clansmen, and the natural energy of the ley lines was the best catalyst.

"Eternal Kaleidoscope..." Bai Ye murmured the forbidden word, and the First Generation Sprout around his neck suddenly began to throb wildly. "Was this the plan that Hamura Shinobu gave you back then?"

Itachi didn't understand the sentence, but he could feel the chakra concentration in the air changing rapidly.

Not far away came the distinctive cawing of crows, a coded signal unique to the Konoha Anbu. Three kilometers away, from the direction of the Hokage's office, chakra fluctuations were approaching at an extremely fast speed.

“Someone has spotted you.” Itachi retreated behind a tree, his fingertips gripping the kunai again. “But I won’t arrest you now—I want to see with my own eyes just how far Father’s research can go.”

Before he finished speaking, his figure had already disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

Bai Ye gazed in the direction the boy had left, then looked up at the gradually darkening sky.

The shouts of Konoha guards echoed from afar, and the distinctive black crows of the Anbu swept overhead, their claws carrying secret letters that gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

“It seems… it’s time to meet the Third Hokage.” Byakuya took out the Red Sand Core from his pocket, and the virus inside emitted an excited buzzing sound.

He took one last look at the Fire Shadow Rock deep within the forbidden area, then turned and disappeared into the bushes.

Unbeknownst to him, Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed a blood-stained intelligence report onto the table, the chakra in his palm causing the teacup to vibrate: "Seal off the entire Hidden Leaf Village, deploy all Anbu... bring them here alive or dead."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's knuckles pressed bluish-white marks onto the intelligence report, the edges of which were stained with the blood of an Anbu ninja—the Anbu squad responsible for tracking Byakuya, whose members had all lost their chakra senses and lay paralyzed in the forbidden bushes like puppets whose souls had been extracted.

He gazed at the black crows flying past the window, a bitter feeling rising in his throat: "Order the Dark Guard to seal off the seven city gates. Anyone leaving the city must undergo a triple chakra test."

"Lord Hokage, the tracking dog squad reports—" An ANBU member lifted his mask, cold sweat still clinging to his forehead, "The Inuzuka clan's ninja dogs are collectively going berserk in the South District, barking at the contaminated well water area, and it seems... they're being interfered with by some kind of chakra."

Sarutobi's pupils contracted slightly.