Konoha: Superman template, the spoiled brat becomes strong.

The blood dripped onto the charred tree stump and was immediately absorbed by the thirsty roots.

He channeled Wood Release chakra into the wound, and the sand around the broken tree suddenly turned green—nine seeds covered in gold dust were emerging from the depths of the earth's veins.

“The fragments of the First Lord’s edict are in the east, and the fragments of the Second Lord’s headband are in the west…” He squatted down and buried the last fragment of the spore wristband into the central tree pit. “You always say that ‘history is written by the victors,’ but the roots of the tree are underground, and no one can tell which piece of soil belongs to which victor.”

The spring rain fell at just the right moment.

As the first raindrop hit his forehead, nine young shoots broke through the soil at the same time.

On the slender stem, the first leaf is unfolding into the shape of the Memory Tree, with pale golden light flowing in its veins—the burning records of the massacre, the buried list of mine disasters, and the whitewashed truth of poisoning, which are now spreading underground along the veins of the leaf, intertwining with the roots of the Memory Tree to form a net.

Bai Ye stood on the ruins, gazing at the sapling.

The wind whipped his hair, and the glimmer of light from the tips of the leaves formed a chain of stars, stretching from the capital of the Land of Fire all the way to the giant rock on the border of the Land of Earth.

He knew that Shige's Firebringer would arrive soon, and Ebizo's Thunder Pattern Blade would not give up, but when he touched one of the saplings, what he felt in his palm was no longer the heat of scorched earth, but a fresh, pulsating life force.

"Does it hurt?" He looked down and lifted his shirt.

The old wound under his ribs, pierced by the "Shadow-Severing Needle," was glowing, with a bluish-gold light flowing along his veins, as if something ancient was awakening from the depths.

Chapter 935 The Shadow Returns to Its Homeland

He touched the wound, his fingertips brushing against the raised lines beneath his skin—the veins of Wood Release chakra, more intricate and closer to the roots of the Tree of Memory than he had ever seen before.

A new leaf suddenly fell into his palm.

The inscription on the leaf wasn't carved by him; the strokes were vigorous and sharp as a knife: "Northern Mausoleum of the Leaf, the coffin of the first generation remains unsealed."

The spring rain is still falling.

On the sandy ground of Guiyuan Shrine, the roots of saplings are penetrating the scorched earth and sinking deeper into the earth's veins.

Bai Ye gazed at the words on the leaf, and in the distance came the roar of a sandstorm—that was the roots of the Memory Tree churning underground, the truth growing.

He tucked the new leaves into his bosom and turned to walk towards the sandstorm.

Behind him, nine saplings swayed in the rain, the light on their leaves reflecting off the light beneath his ribs.

The spring rain dampened his hair, but it couldn't extinguish the fire in his eyes.

The spring rain at Guiyuan Shrine has not yet stopped.

Raindrops mixed with sand pattered against Bai Ye's brow bone at Guiyuan Shrine. He looked down at the new leaf in his palm, its bluish-gold veins flowing like a living thing in the rain.

The old wound under his ribs burned with each heartbeat, as if a thin needle was piercing his heart through his veins—it was the resonance of the first generation of blood, clearer than ever before.

"The coffin of the first emperor of Konoha remains unsealed in the northern mausoleum." He read the words on the leaf into the rain, his fingertips lightly tracing the words "unsealed," his knuckles turning white from the force.

In the ruins of Guiyuan Shrine, the branches and leaves of nine saplings rustled in the wind, and the faint light at the tips of the leaves formed a chain of stars that stretched northward, creating a kind of hidden attraction with the light veins under his ribs.

He suddenly squatted down and dug out the fragment of the spore wristband from the damp sand.

The edges of the fragment still had scorched earth from the Guiyuan Shrine clinging to them, but it glowed with a ghostly blue light the moment it touched the palm of the hand.

Byakuya pressed the fragment to his brow, and Wood Release chakra seeped into the gaps between the fragments like a stream—it was the memory circuit left by "Shadow Needle," and the information erased by Shige was flowing upstream with the chakra.

Fragmented images flashed before my eyes: a giant bronze gate at the fork of the earth's veins, with the inscription "Tomb of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju" on the lintel; a transparent coffin floating on a stone platform inside the gate, containing not skeletons, but a ball of light wrapped in Wood Release chakra; and seven pitch-black coffin nails standing beside the ball of light, each engraved with twisted incantations.

“So Beiling isn’t a cemetery after all…” Bai Ye’s eyes widened suddenly, raindrops splashing into his eyes as they ran down his eyelashes. “It’s the ley line node that sealed the consciousness of the First Hokage.” His fingertips trembled as he touched his brow. The fluorescence on the fragment gradually dimmed, but it left a complete topographical map on his retina—the most vigorous convergence point of the ley lines, thirty feet underground in Beiling.

Meanwhile, inside the bamboo house of the "Ear History Group" in the capital of the Land of Fire, Nanaho's hand, which was gripping the medicine bowl, suddenly tightened.

She poured the hot soup from the bowl onto the tatami mat, and in the rising steam, she stared at the fifth sleepwalking child on the bed.

The boy's eyes were tightly closed, but his lips were moving rapidly, his voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing: "When the coffin nails loosen, the shadow returns to its homeland."

“It’s that line again.” Qi Sui knelt in front of the bed, her fingertips pressing on the back of the boy’s neck—there was a light blue mark there, exactly the same as the previous four children, as if it had been forcibly branded by some kind of magic.

She recalled the memory tree that Bai Ye had planted three days ago. The buried truths were growing along the earth's veins, perhaps touching what Shi Ge feared most.

She tore off the scarlet ribbon from her waist, bit her fingertip to draw blood patterns on the ribbon, quickly rolled it into a ball, and stuffed it into the mechanical bird's abdominal pouch.

Chapter 936 Quiet Memory Forest

As the mechanical bird flapped its wings, she looked out at the overcast sky and whispered, "I hope it's not too late."

Just as the mechanical bird flew past the east gate of the capital, a poisoned black-feathered arrow pierced the air.

The moment the arrow pierced the bird's belly, Nanami saw it clearly from the city wall—it was the symbol of the Shige "Purifying Fire Envoy".

She gritted her teeth and took two steps back, only to see fine golden particles drifting out of the mechanical bird's belly as its remains fell into the pine forest outside the city.

Those were the spores that Bai Ye had given her, and now they were seeping into the pine forest soil with the wind, shimmering with tiny points of light in the rain.

The Earth Vein Sensing Array has been activated.

By the time Byakuya arrived at the border of Konoha, the rain had subsided somewhat.

He stood outside the pine forest, gazing at the "Quiet Memory Forest" shrouded in mist ahead—where hundreds of gaunt figures stood, all dressed as elderly historians with white hair, clutching tattered bamboo slips in their hands.

"The people of the Land of Fire are benevolent and virtuous, and the First Hokage has passed away peacefully." The leading corpse puppet suddenly spoke, its hoarse voice like the turning of rusty gears.

As the words fell, three chakra blades condensed in the air, hovering in mid-air like sharp knives.

Bai Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

He had heard Chiyo say that Shige used brainwashing techniques to control old historians, sealing their consciousness into their corpses, and creating them specifically to tamper with history.

Each time these corpse puppets recite a line from a embellished historical text, they generate a "Blade of Memory," which specifically targets the minds of those with discernment.

He lowered his eyes to look at his Adam's apple and suddenly formed the Wood Release seal.

Fine, hair-like hyphae emerged from the fingertips, crawled down the neck into the throat, and tightly wrapped around the vocal cords.

When he spoke again, his voice became a muffled sob—much like a walking corpse whose memory had been erased.

The corpse puppets' murky eyes turned to him.

The leader then recited, "The Second Hokage quelled the rebellion, spreading benevolence throughout the land." Two more chakra blades appeared.

Bai Ye continued walking into the woods without stopping, making unconscious humming sounds in his throat.

As he walked to the center of the group of corpse puppets, he caught a glimpse of one of the puppets' wrists out of the corner of his eye—there was a pale blue mark there, exactly the same as the mark on the back of the child's neck that Qi Sui had described.

He understood immediately: the chakra fluctuations of these corpse puppets were surging along the earth's veins toward the Northern Mausoleum, as if being guided by some kind of ritual.

“Steig is afraid.” Bai Ye sneered inwardly, the mycelium stinging slightly in his throat. “They are afraid of the awakening of the First Generation’s consciousness, afraid of the buried truth breaking through the ground.”

When I emerged from the Quiet Memory Forest, the rain had stopped.

Bai Ye stood at the foot of the mountain, looking up at the misty Beiling.

The mountain's silhouette appeared particularly heavy in the twilight. He reached out and pressed his hand against the mountain wall, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his palm—it was the backlash of the Reverse Sealing Technique, like countless fine needles piercing his flesh.

He looked down at the old wound under his ribs, where the light veins were spreading along his arm to his fingertips, creating an eerie resonance with the stinging pain from the mountain wall.

“The First Coffin…” Bai Ye whispered to the mountain peak, raindrops dripping from his hair onto the rocks. “I have arrived.”

A mountain breeze suddenly blew up, blowing his wet hair away from his forehead.

In the gaps in the wind, he vaguely heard muffled sounds coming from underground, like some kind of sleeping behemoth awakening.

The mountain wind swept across the foot of Beiling Mountain, carrying the remaining rain, and Bai Ye's fingertips sank deep into the cracks in the mountain wall.

The stinging pain of the Reverse Sealing Technique shot from the palm into the bone marrow, like countless ice needles drilling into the heart along the meridians—this was no ordinary defensive barrier, but more like some living thing gnawing at the chakra of the intruder.

Chapter 937 Brainwashing Technique

He looked up at the mountain bathed in twilight and suddenly noticed a faint, dark red glow emanating from the mountain's veins—traces of the earth's veins burned by the cursed seal.

"I see." He chuckled softly, the fungal hyphae in his throat trembling slightly from the vibration.

The bloodline of the first generation surged under his ribs, transforming the stinging pain of the reverse sealing technique into a kind of guidance—the ice needles piercing his flesh were pointing directly north of the mountain.

He moved along the path of the stinging sensation, bypassing two withered pine trees. What came into view were nine giant black iron nails driven diagonally into the ground. Each nail was engraved with spiraling blood patterns, and the tips of the nails were embedded in the intersection of the earth's veins, like nine sharp blades piercing the heart of the earth.

"Coffin-suppressing nails." Bai Ye squatted down, tapping his knuckles on the nearest nail.

Amidst the metallic hum, he smelled the stench of rust mixed with rotting wood—the smell of old blood.

The bottom of the nail was engraved with tiny names, which he squinted to make out: "Minister of Finance of the Land of Fire, Watanabe Shigezo... Nakajima Masao... So each nail is a blood sacrifice of the finance ministers of past generations."

He suddenly recalled the image in the spore wristband of Guiyuan Shrine: seven coffin nails standing beside the transparent coffin.

There were nine seals before him at this moment—two more were added after the first generation died, using more blood to reinforce the seal.

Bai Ye pulled out half a yellowed piece of silk from his bosom, with scorch marks still stuck to the edges.

It was a fragment of the first edict that he found in the ruins of Amegakure. The words "By blood ties, guided by the truth" were curled up by the fire.

He pressed the tattered page into the soil where the first nail had been driven, his fingertips quickly forming a hand seal.

Wood Release chakra seeped into the earth like vines, binding the tattered page. "First Hokage, is this the contract you left behind in this world?"

He closed his eyes and chanted the mantra in a low voice, which was filtered into a muffled sound by the fungal hyphae in his throat.

The earth suddenly trembled violently, and the nine nails simultaneously glowed red.

The first nail cracked open with a "click," and dark red liquid seeped out along the crack, dripping onto the back of Bai Ye's hand.

His pupils contracted sharply—the liquid burst open upon contact with his skin, revealing the distinctive bluish-gold patterns of Wood Release, perfectly matching the light veins of his old wound beneath his ribs.

"The First Hokage's blood..." He licked his lips, tasting the bitter essence of wood hidden within the rusty flavor. "What Shige is drawing isn't chakra at all, it's your blood."

Use your blood to nourish their memory manipulation techniques.

Meanwhile, deep within the Hidden Sand Village, inside the "Hyakki Yagyō" (Hall of One Hundred Machines), Chiyo's puppet arm slammed heavily onto the bronze pylon.

The water mirror floating on the surface of the machine is playing a live video of Beiling—the scene of Baiye burying the fragments and the nails bleeding is clearly presented along with the chakra fluctuations transmitted back by the spores.

“I see.” Her fingers traced the tattered characters of the First Hokage’s edict in the water mirror, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes wrinkling from the vibration. “The First Hokage voluntarily sealed his consciousness, not because he died of old age… He feared that future generations would turn the ‘Hokage’ into a symbol of power, so he transformed himself into a ley line node.” She picked up a carving knife from the table and quickly carved words on a tortoise shell. “The finance ministers of each generation used the guise of sacrifice to draw his blood, using that blood to fuel the brainwashing techniques of the History Pavilion… What a ruthless scheme.”

After finishing the last stroke of the tortoise shell carving, she placed it into the bronze tripod on the incense table.

The blue smoke rising from the cauldron instantly condensed into incantations, which drifted in all directions along with the evening prayer bells of Sunagakure—these were "sacrificial verses" that only the old ninjas could understand, and the truth would be spread through the power of faith.

"Lady Chiyo," came the maid's voice from outside the door, "Advisor Ebizo has brought over the newly made puppet strings."

Chiyo wiped the copper shavings off her carving knife, her voice regaining its usual calm: "Put it by the door." She gazed at the still-bleeding coffin nails in the water mirror, a faint, cold smile playing on her lips. "The good days for Shige are coming to an end."

Chapter 938 The Body Double Plan

At the entrance to Beiling Mountain, Bai Ye suddenly clutched his ribs.

The skin at the old wound felt like it had been branded with hot tongs, and he could clearly feel tiny roots emerging from the wound and climbing up his arm along the blood vessels.

When the roots touched the blood seeping from the coffin nails, they made a crackling sound similar to vines sprouting, pointing straight to the core of the mountain.

“A container…” He gasped, the pain of the roots piercing his skin causing him to stagger. “The original consciousness split into containers… I’m not the successor, but one of the containers?”

Before the words were finished, the mountain gate shook violently.

The second coffin nail suddenly shot up from the ground, piercing into the air with a piercing shriek.

The blood-red patterns on the nails lit up, and a deep, weathered voice echoed in the air: "...Wait a hundred years...for you to break this chain..."

The sound seemed to come from the deepest part of the earth, making Bai Ye's eardrums ache.

He looked up at the suspended nail and found that the nail tip was pointing at a certain spot on the mountainside—where a faint bluish-gold light flickered like breathing from a crevice in the rock.

At the same time, in the study of the Sunagakure village advisor's residence, Ebizo's hand, holding the secret report, trembled slightly.

The handwriting on the letter, which read "Unusual activity at Beiling, it is recommended to initiate the 'Shadow Substitution Plan'," still carried the scent of ink; it was a secret document used by the Iwagakure Village's secret service.

He walked to the window, gazing at the sand dunes dyed orange-red by the sunset, his knuckles unconsciously tapping on the window frame.

“The Shadow Substitute Project…” he muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the fragments of the Third Kazekage puppet on the table. “The First Kazekage’s consciousness is reviving, Shige is about to fall, the Land of Fire is about to descend into chaos… Sunagakure’s opportunity has arrived.”

The wind on Beiling Mountain suddenly picked up, making Bai Ye's hair wildly disheveled.

He looked down at his ribs; the roots had spread to his wrists and were growing toward the core of the mountain, as if guiding an underground passage.

He tore off the kunai from his waist, slashed his palm, and dripped blood onto the roots.

The roots immediately twisted excitedly, drawing a downward arrow on the ground.

“First Lord,” he wiped the rain from his face, his voice hoarse with excitement, “I’ve come to break the chain.”

He bent down and picked up a piece of gravel, carving a mark on the mountainside—a signal to Qi Sui, telling her that the secret of Beiling had reached its core.