c35 Retrieving the Treasure Map
Lu Sen said: "At that time, my father did not expect that my second uncle would collude with rogue ninja from outside the Land of Fire, and he did not hide the treasure map somewhere distant, but locked it inside the old secret room beneath our own courtyard. Although the treasure map is concealed with a mechanism seal similar to those used by noble clans in the Fire Country, my second uncle has already taken over all our former property. Now he is constantly searching for my whereabouts on one side, and on the other side he is doing everything possible to uncover the treasure map. Even if he fails to catch me, I believe he will eventually discover the mechanism."
Naruto said: "According to what you've said, we must move quickly, otherwise Lu Yuan might have already reached the secret chamber, and then we'll be in serious trouble. I'll take you with me for now, but I'll send you away if things get dangerous so you don't get caught."
"Okay, sir." Lu Sen put on the tight dark outfit that Naruto had prepared for him, and the two of them started moving after nightfall. They advanced carefully along the path, avoiding travelers and patrols, and it took considerable effort before they reached the old residential grounds of the Lu family's estate.
From the outside, it did not resemble an ordinary wealthy family at all. The compound was vast, with numerous wooden structures, tiled buildings, and storage halls arranged like a miniature castle town. It was obvious that Lu Sen's father had once been extremely wealthy. But now many armed guards patrolled in repeated cycles. Even people within the estate who tried to enter or leave needed strict inspection, and no outsider was permitted in. This kind of ordinary guard posed no threat to Naruto, but carrying Lu Sen made movement inconvenient. Lu Sen informed Naruto that the treasure map was inside a mechanism-sealed room located in the garden. Once the hidden switch was pressed, the stone door would open downward. Naruto had Lu Sen point out the exact location and then sent him far away before proceeding alone.
Acting alone in a place without trained shinobi was not difficult. Naruto advanced like a trained Konoha ninja, suppressing his chakra signature as he moved from roof to roof. When he reached the garden Lu Sen had described, he immediately sensed something amiss. A tall wooden palisade had been newly constructed around the entire garden, enclosing it fully. Only a single narrow wooden gate allowed entry and exit. Two masked shinobi stood guard at the door. From their posture and the way they were suppressing their killing intent, Naruto felt that they were at least jōnin-level missing-nin hired by Lu Yuan. Metallic clanging echoed from behind the wall, along with faint voices, as if several people were working on something underground. What exactly they were doing remained unclear. In order to avoid alerting everyone inside, Naruto could not simply defeat the shinobi guards and force his way in.
At that moment, Naruto noticed a separate building not far from the small gate. Judging by its placement, the structure once served as the residence for the garden overseers and attendants who managed the grounds. But now many heavily armed guards stood watch at its entrance as well. Just as Naruto prepared to approach the building and assess its purpose, a middle-aged man hurried over from the front walkway. Short, with two thin mustache-strands hanging down and a sleazy expression, he matched Lu Sen's description of Lu Yuan exactly. The guards saw him and immediately opened the door, allowing him to enter the building without hesitation. Seeing Lu Yuan's behavior and the emergency of his arrival, Naruto felt even more certain that something extremely important was hidden inside that house.
Naruto quietly came to the roof, lowered his chakra presence the way Jiraiya once taught him, leaned down, and listened to the movement inside the room. He heard the sharp ring of a blade being drawn, followed immediately by Lu Yuan's terrified pleading: "Master, please don't strike! Whatever you want done, I will follow your orders. I just beg you to give me a little more time."
It sounded as if someone had pressed a kunai or a chokutō against Lu Yuan's throat. The man holding the blade had a fierce, impatient temper typical of rogue shinobi. He snarled at Lu Yuan, "Didn't you swear the treasure map was hidden somewhere in this garden? We've been digging for days with nothing to show for it. Are you making fools out of us missing-nin?"
At that moment, another man's voice came from the room: "And that brat Lu Sen still hasn't been caught? If this keeps dragging on" A woman's voice cut him off sharply: "That's because you slaughtered every witness. Otherwise, we would have found him long ago."
Another rough voice answered irritably: "Enough. Give him three more days. If there's still no progress, he'll die in the worst way possible. Now get out of my sight!"
Then came the creak of a door opening and the hurried footsteps of Lu Yuan bolting out in panic. Naruto had no interest in chasing a coward like him, so he continued lying on the roof, listening closely like a trained Konoha operative.
He then heard the swordsman speak again: "Captain, our mission is to secure the treasure map, yet we've dug nearly a month without success. I'm worried that at this rate we'll fail the client's commission, and that will be difficult to answer for."
The captain replied calmly, in a tone Naruto recognized as someone used to commanding small mercenary squads: "There's no other method for now. After all, Lu Yuan is the brother of the owner. If he can't locate anything, nobody else will. And we still haven't tracked down Lu Sen. We can't make a scene—drawing attention will only put us at a disadvantage." At this moment, the woman added mockingly, "The captain sees the situation clearly, unlike certain idiots who only know how to kill, kill, kill."
"You, are you looking for me to cut you down?!"
"Haha, if you've got the guts, come over here."
"Enough. Stop bickering. The rest of you get some sleep. I'll take first watch."
After that, Naruto could no longer hear anything, but he had already learned enough. He descended silently from the roof and prepared to inspect the garden interior. The wall was tall but only blocked visibility; for a shinobi trained in tree-climbing and chakra control, it was no obstacle. Naruto chose a blind spot, planted chakra into his palms and feet, and climbed to the top of the wooden barrier without a sound.
Inside, he saw many workers digging nonstop, and the garden had been transformed into a construction pit. Naruto couldn't determine the secret room's exact position, but if the digging continued, they would uncover it sooner or later. Fortunately, the chamber was deep and cleverly hidden, similar to underground storehouses of noble families in the Land of Fire, and it seemed they hadn't found it yet. He also noticed no shinobi were inside the pit; the missing-nin lacked manpower and were only guarding the exterior.
Just as Naruto wondered what approach he should take next, someone suddenly shouted: "There are bricks down here—this is the hidden chamber! Everyone get over here and dig!" A crowd rushed together and soon opened a hole. As the hole widened, the outline of the secret room became clearly visible.
At this moment, the masked ninjas stationed outside rushed in. As Naruto had overheard earlier, there were four of them, all wearing identical masks similar to cheap imitations of ANBU style, and each possessed considerable strength. The tall man leading them leapt down into the opening first, the female ninja followed, while the remaining two remained above as lookouts.
Naruto hid behind the corner of a broken pillar, observing quietly. The shinobi below had been inside for quite some time without returning. Naruto reasoned that even after locating the secret room, retrieving the treasure map would require time. According to Lu Sen's earlier explanation, the map was exceptionally well concealed inside the chamber, so reaching the room did not mean finding the map easily.
Naruto hadn't worried at first, assuming that if the enemy had even one Earth Release user, they could detect hollow spaces or buried items with Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu or similar earth-sensing techniques. Digging with laborers should have been unnecessary, though it would consume chakra. But he found it strange that none of the missing-nin used such jutsu. It was impossible for a squad of four experienced rogues to include not a single shinobi capable of Earth Release. For now, he could not understand the reason. Since there was no point in acting rashly, he could only wait patiently.
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