c37 – Looking for Treasure
The ten people saw Naruto dropping so many smoke bombs, and because smoke bombs were common among shinobi for creating openings, they could not tell whether Naruto wanted to charge forward, use a clone feint, or escape with an instantaneous movement technique. They could only increase their guard, forming a loose circular formation as the smoke swelled and rolled in waves. As the air flowed with a faint breeze, the dense smoke gradually dispersed, but there was no trace of Naruto anywhere. The leader clicked his tongue and said grimly, "Did he escape using Doton? I didn't expect someone with lightning-natured chakra to also use Earth Release. We must not let him escape the next time. We finally got our hands on the treasure map, and we lost it again the moment we secured it. How are we supposed to explain this when we return to Iwagakure?"
The female ninja stepped forward, worry and calculation in her eyes, and said, "Captain, don't panic. Even if he took the treasure map, he shouldn't be able to read or open it immediately. As long as we track his trail he must still be somewhere in the Grass Country we still have a chance to retrieve it."
At that moment, Naruto had already returned to the temporary base he had set up earlier using a Flying Thunder God marker he had hidden under a stone slab. He was holding the sealed box containing the treasure map. When Sagi Mori saw Naruto return intact, he rushed forward and asked anxiously, "Sir, did you manage to get the treasure map back this time?" Naruto lifted the treasure box and said, "This is the treasure map you were talking about." Sagi Mori's eyes welled with emotion as he saw the box and he said tremulously, "Fortunately, my second uncle didn't find it. If he had opened it first, my father truly would have died in vain."
Naruto said, "If we were even a little late, those Iwa-nin and Grass shinobi would have taken it away. By the way, how did you even know there was a treasure map inside this box?"
Lu Sen smiled bitterly, then pointed at the treasure box, and said, "Please take a look, sir."
Naruto, although aware that the treasure box was not ordinary because he had sensed a complex sealing pattern within it, had never examined the exterior closely. Upon focusing his gaze, he discovered that the words "Treasure Map" were carved directly onto the surface alongside an inscription describing the treasure's origin and the name of the daimyo who hid it. It turned out that this was a hidden legacy passed down from the former daimyo of the Grass Country. To prepare for unforeseen disasters that could befall the small nation, several generations of Grass Country daimyo secretly accumulated treasure. The map had always been kept within Kusa no Kuni's noble household, unused for decades, until some unknown accident caused it to be lost. No wonder the Grass ninja had even requested Iwagakure's assistance in retrieving it.
Lu Sen said, "Father had held onto this treasure map for years, studying it in secret. But the box is made from a special chakra-responsive alloy ordinary people can't open it, and even the Grass ninja our father secretly hired back then couldn't break it open despite trying repeatedly. Later, Father discussed the matter with my Second Uncle and the others, but he never expected that they would harbor malicious intentions."
Naruto said, "There are no instructions written about opening this box. The method must only be known to the daimyo's direct descendants. That means we can only try to force it open. Sagi Mori, step back for now."
Naruto drew the Thunder God Sword, channelling a large amount of Lightning Release chakra into the blade. With its legendary sharpness enhanced by focused lightning, the sword pierced into the treasure box but instead of splitting it apart as expected, Naruto felt the chakra on the blade vanish instantly. The box was absorbing chakra, and the amount being devoured was massive. In Naruto's memory, only Kisame's Samehada possessed such an ability. Other than that, the only similar artifact he had encountered was the giant chakra-absorbing box deep within Kizuna Castle. But the shape and size of this treasure box were entirely different. This one was much smaller and intricately carved. It was likely a Grass Country imitation or a specialized variant crafted by their old daimyo family.
Naruto tried injecting chakra again, and just as he suspected, no matter how much chakra he poured in, the box continued to absorb it without showing any signs of saturation. If this box truly was a replica modeled after high-grade chakra-absorbing artifacts like the ones seen in ancient daimyō vaults, then other than opening it with the correct secret method, forcibly overwhelming it with chakra might also work. However, Naruto had no idea exactly how much chakra such a thing required.
But this discovery resolved a strange question Naruto had been wondering about. The ninjas from the Land of Earth weren't unwilling to use Earth Release to locate the box under the garden rather, the moment any chakra-infused soil touched the box, the chakra would have been absorbed instantly. That meant Earth Release ninjutsu would collapse before even forming, making underground tracking nearly impossible. This also explained why the Iwa-nin had stubbornly believed the box remained buried in the garden's soil. No wonder they had spent so much effort digging it out manually.
However, for Naruto, finding the correct method to open it remained incredibly troublesome. If the mechanism required a specific pattern known only to the daimyo's descendants, then trial and error could lead to countless failures. It seemed that he had no choice but to try the foolish brute-force method. Naruto began pouring an enormous amount of his own chakra into the box. This time, the box slowly began to glow with faint lines of light along its joints, but Naruto had consumed nearly 80% of his chakra reserves and the box still refused to open. Naruto didn't dare continue draining chakra. If an emergency occurred especially with those ten Iwa and Kusa shinobi searching for him—he would be finished. He could only stop and meditate, waiting for his chakra to recover naturally. The next day, as soon as his chakra had replenished, Naruto resumed injecting chakra, but the situation was nearly the same as before, with the box absorbing everything like a bottomless pit.
Naruto knew the ten ninja must be searching for him relentlessly. Although this temporary base was extremely well hidden, it wasn't impossible to discover, especially if they used sensory techniques. The longer he delayed, the worse the situation would become. It would have been perfect if he already knew Sage Mode natural energy could replenish chakra without fear of depletion. But mastering senjutsu obviously wasn't something he could do instantly. In this dilemma, he could only request help from the one source of chakra said to be inexhaustible. Kurama's chakra was vast, violent, and overwhelming, if anything could break the box, it was that.
Naruto closed his eyes and focused inward, quickly sinking into his consciousness.
"Boy… what kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time? Do you need my strength?" The deep, rumbling voice of the Nine-Tailed Fox echoed throughout his mindscape, its tails swaying behind the bars of the seal.
Naruto said, "I don't have a choice right now. I ran into a problem I can't solve alone. So I'm going to need your power."
"Hmph. Very well. If you're asking for it… I'll lend it." As the Nine-Tails spoke, a surge of power erupted like a tidal wave. Naruto immediately felt the overwhelming pressure and heat of Kurama's chakra flooding toward the seal.
For some reason, Naruto felt that the Nine-Tails' attitude this time was noticeably better than before. Although not exactly warm, it was at least not openly hostile. Naruto didn't have time to ponder the change. The crimson chakra of the Nine-Tails poured from the seal in thick waves. Naruto guided the massive, malevolent chakra into the box. The treasure box received the injection and instantly grew brighter, glowing from within like molten metal. With the continuous influx, the light intensified further. Even Naruto couldn't help marveling at how overwhelmingly dense and potent the Nine-Tails' chakra was far beyond human chakra. No wonder the tailed beasts were considered living natural disasters.
As the injection continued, the treasure box suddenly rose into the air, glowing brilliantly as if reacting to the tail-beast chakra. The entire room vibrated violently as if resonating with the stored energy inside the box. Sensing danger, Naruto grabbed Lu Sen and evacuated him outside the temporary base, preparing to wait for the reaction to finish. A deafening boom followed, and the structure Naruto had built was torn apart instantly by the intense chakra pressure. The treasure box burst upward from the wreckage and hovered midair, radiating blinding light. A violent chakra storm erupted from it, sweeping outward like a shockwave. Lu Sen was knocked off his feet, slamming into the ground and clinging desperately to a nearby tree trunk to avoid being blown away. Naruto himself had to anchor his feet with chakra to remain standing.
Since this was only a replica of a legendary chakra container, once Naruto overloaded it with Kurama's chakra, it could no longer stabilize the energy or shape it into a construct. When its limit was exceeded, it had no choice but to unleash the stored chakra outward in a massive release. However, this violent reaction also served to force the box open. The chakra storm ravaged the surroundings, flattening nearly a kilometer of trees and leaving a massive crater where Naruto's temporary base had been. The ground trembled long after the shock wave faded.
As the chakra storm gradually subsided, Naruto rushed forward, grabbed the treasure box, and flipped it open. Inside lay the long-sought treasure map. After all the danger and trouble, he had finally opened it. Now the real question remained: where exactly was the treasure hidden?
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