Chapter 558: The False Surroundings Technique and Treasure Maps
A child carrying gold through a marketplace was practically inviting disaster.
That was why the ordinary looking pearls Kenichi had collected were actually the best possible choice for the little girl.
If they gave her a high quality pearl necklace instead, there was a good chance someone would steal it from her as soon as Team 7 left.
Once the simple pearl necklace had been strung together, their plan reached its final step.
Now they only needed Sasuke to use the False Surroundings Technique on the girl, then reproduce a similar photograph to complete the replacement.
Replicating the photograph itself was not difficult for Sasuke.
They only needed to learn what the girl's father looked like, then use the Transformation Jutsu to reproduce his appearance.
It had to be said that although the Transformation Jutsu was easy for experienced ninja to see through, ordinary civilians could hardly distinguish it from reality.
Naruto had also spent considerable time experimenting with the Transformation Jutsu.
When Kenichi had first learned the technique himself, he had experimented by transforming into several classic anime characters he remembered from his previous life, such as Mai Sakurajima, Madoka, and Luffy.
There had been a few minor flaws at first.
However, after repeated adjustments, the transformations eventually became nearly perfect, giving the impression that a two dimensional character had stepped directly into the three dimensional world.
"Sasuke, use the False Surroundings Technique on her!"
Kenichi placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
Sasuke nodded seriously.
Holding the pearl necklace, he took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
"Big brother!"
A little girl immediately ran outside.
A large white dog followed beside her, barking warningly at the strangers.
Kenichi watched the scene, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Oh no.
His old trauma was acting up again!
What kind of ridiculous combination of elements was this?
Was there going to be a narrow alley next, where a family of three entered and only a little boy came back out?
Sasuke crouched down and pulled the pearl necklace from behind his back.
At the same time, he cast the Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique.
The little girl's eyes briefly lost focus.
Then her expression suddenly lit up.
She clutched the necklace tightly to her chest and let out soft, tearful sounds like a small animal.
The large white dog anxiously rubbed against its young owner before turning a vigilant gaze toward Sasuke.
"Sora, can you tell me what your father looked like in the photograph?"
Sasuke asked patiently.
The girl's name was Sora.
Still happily clutching the necklace, she began describing her father's appearance.
As she spoke, Kenichi used the Transformation Jutsu and continuously adjusted his appearance according to her description.
Only when Sora confirmed that he looked exactly right did Kenichi finally nod.
The large white dog seemed to realize that Sasuke meant its owner no harm.
It lay down on the ground and began wagging its tail.
Immediately afterward, Naruto took a picture of Kenichi using an instant camera.
Once the photograph developed, Kenichi reduced it to the proper size.
Then he bought a small frame matching the one Sora had described and attached the photograph to the pearl necklace.
After everything had been prepared, Kenichi nodded toward Sasuke, who had been watching him closely.
Seeing that signal, Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief.
He released the False Surroundings Technique.
Sora looked dazed for a brief moment.
Then she lowered her gaze toward the necklace in her hands and hugged it tightly against her chest, her face filled with deep attachment.
"Is this really okay?"
Sasuke asked hesitantly.
He looked at the little girl crying with happiness, then at the large white dog sitting quietly beside her.
"Sasuke, human memory is an incredibly powerful thing."
Kenichi patted him on the shoulder.
"Before long, she'll gradually come to believe that this really is her original necklace."
Kenichi understood exactly what Sasuke was worried about.
He himself was not particularly concerned.
A child's memory was not especially precise in the first place.
Even adults usually remembered only the things their minds considered important.
For example, if Kenichi suddenly asked someone what they had eaten for lunch exactly seven days ago, very few people would be able to answer immediately.
Even after thinking carefully, most still would not remember accurately unless that particular meal had been associated with something important, such as a birthday or another special occasion.
For an ordinary meal, remembering exactly what had been eaten seven days earlier was surprisingly difficult.
Sora's necklace was undoubtedly precious to her.
However, it had already been missing for some time.
Even the clearest memories gradually blurred.
Once those memories became vague enough, as long as the replacement necklace was not drastically different from the original, convincing her would not be difficult.
Watching the happy Sora, Sasuke also revealed a faint smile.
He could not bring the girl's parents back to life.
But at the very least, he had helped restore part of the sense of security she had lost.
"Let's go. We still need to return and report the mission."
Kakashi leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
He glanced toward the little girl, whose cheeks were streaked with tears even as she smiled.
Behind Kakashi's mask, the corner of his mouth quietly lifted.
"Yeah."
Sasuke finally relaxed.
Naruto was also relieved.
He had already returned the stolen gold to the struggling merchant shop and received the owner's heartfelt gratitude and praise.
That had made Naruto extremely happy.
Kenichi, on the other hand, did not feel much about it.
The greatest emotional impact this mission had left on him was probably encountering Kisame Hoshigaki.
He still wondered what exactly Kisame had been doing in that area.
After bidding farewell to Haibo Town, Kenichi followed Naruto and Kakashi back to Konoha.
They went directly to the mission hall to submit their report.
The original C-rank assignment was ultimately reclassified as B-rank because it had involved Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, as well as Haku, a ninja who possessed the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.
However, the payment remained at the C-rank level.
Only the mission's recorded difficulty was upgraded to B-rank.
"Old man Hiruzen, these are the valuables I took from Gato."
Kenichi brought out a portion of the spoils he had seized.
This was the share he intended to turn over to the village.
Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe.
He was already aware of what had happened.
Kakashi had reported part of the mission intelligence before the group officially returned to the village.
Hiruzen accepted the valuables with a chuckle.
Gato's company was enormous.
Although the amount of money he had kept in the Land of Waves was not particularly large compared with his total fortune, it was still an unexpected windfall for Konoha.
"All right, Kakashi, stay behind."
Hiruzen smiled.
"Naruto, the rest of you can go home and rest."
He still needed Kakashi to provide more detailed intelligence.
This mission had involved both Team 7 and Team 8.
Although Kurenai had already submitted her report, Kakashi needed to give one as well.
"See you next time, Grandpa Hiruzen!"
Naruto waved cheerfully.
He had been eager to leave for quite some time.
Although the food his big brother had been cooking recently was excellent, Naruto still wanted to eat Uncle Ichiraku's ramen.
Hinata and Sasuke did not say anything.
They simply nodded obediently and left with him.
"Naruto~"
The moment they stepped outside the Hokage Building, a curvy woman suddenly blocked Naruto's path.
She looked at him with an amused smile.
Naruto rubbed his nose.
Good grief.
Had Kurenai really arrived this quickly?
Behind her stood the members of Team 8.
Their expressions were somewhat complicated.
Kenichi yawned.
Naruto had already told him what happened, but Kenichi did not care much about it.
"Good afternoon, Kurenai-sensei."
Although Naruto knew perfectly well that Kurenai had not come over with entirely innocent intentions, he still greeted her calmly and politely.
He did not believe Kurenai would actually dare do anything serious to him.
Furthermore, although Naruto had not yet achieved true synchronization with Kurama, he already possessed a certain degree of resistance to genjutsu.
Unless Kurenai used her full strength, Naruto was not particularly worried.
Besides, they were standing directly outside the Hokage Building.
What could Kurenai possibly do here?
She could hardly pull some outrageous stunt in broad daylight.
Kurenai looked at the three young genin before her.
She naturally knew quite a bit about Naruto and Sasuke.
Originally, she had intended to scare Naruto a little today.
Unfortunately, the brat remained completely unfazed.
That immediately made the idea boring.
Kurenai lost interest.
Although Naruto had genuinely annoyed her at the time, Kurenai was not a petty person.
By the time she was traveling back to Konoha, her anger had already disappeared.
After all, she had been the one who tried to tease Naruto first.
If the boy managed to turn the situation around on her, then she could hardly blame him.
Kurenai was not unreasonable.
"When your teacher finishes resting, let's all go eat together."
Kurenai waved a hand.
"My treat."
She still had other matters to deal with.
The fact that Hinata had left both Konoha and the Land of Fire could not be concealed forever.
More importantly, Hinata had become involved in an actual battle.
For the Hyuga Clan, that was enormous news.
Although the Hyuga Clan Head had more or less given up on his eldest daughter, he had never said she was free to leave whenever she pleased.
Hinata belonged to the main family.
Within the Hyuga Clan, it was practically an ironclad rule that members of the main family did not enter battlefields unless Konoha was facing a life or death crisis.
Yet Kakashi had taken Hinata outside the Land of Fire and into actual combat.
No matter how anyone looked at it, Kakashi would need to provide an explanation.
Watching Kurenai walk away, Kenichi felt somewhat surprised.
That was unexpectedly tame.
He had assumed Kurenai would definitely try to prank Naruto.
Apparently, he had overthought things.
"Sasuke, see you tomorrow."
Kenichi waved goodbye.
During their return journey that day, he had spent part of the trip practicing duck walks.
Duck walks while carrying three hundred kilograms of weight.
When he first stood up afterward, he had genuinely felt as though his legs no longer existed.
He had recovered somewhat by now, but the exhaustion throughout his body remained impossible to ignore.
Sasuke nodded.
He also wanted to return home, organize his belongings, take a shower, and change his clothes.
Everything he was wearing was soaked in sweat.
After saying goodbye to Sasuke, Kenichi took Naruto home.
The two brothers showered, collapsed onto their beds, and quickly fell asleep.
That evening, Naruto was at Sasuke's house with paper slips stuck all over his face.
"Sasuke, now that I think about it, do you have any treasure maps lying around your house?"
Naruto asked curiously.
He knew about the Uchiha Clan.
He had heard of them before.
They had apparently once been a massive and powerful clan.
Then, almost overnight, the entire clan had disappeared, leaving only Sasuke behind.
Still, Naruto always felt that someone born into a great clan like Sasuke's should possess some impressive things.
For example, Sasuke had once brought out the scroll containing the Shadow Clone Jutsu for Kenichi.
"Never heard of one."
Sasuke shook his head.
He had never heard anything about treasure maps.
Many important items belonging to the clan had been stored elsewhere, and even his older brother had never mentioned some hidden treasure.
"Huh? Your family sounds really boring."
Naruto collapsed dramatically onto the table.
His face was covered in paper slips.
His luck at cards tonight had been terrible.
"Naruto, why did you suddenly start thinking about treasure maps?"
Kenichi looked curiously at his younger brother.
He did not remember Naruto reading any treasure hunting stories recently.
"Big brother, don't you think it sounds amazing?"
Naruto immediately became excited.
"You accidentally discover a treasure map, then you go on an adventure, overcome all kinds of dangers and obstacles, and finally find the treasure at the end!"
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
He understood.
Naruto was suffering from the kind of intermittent fantasy syndrome unique to children.
When adults had the same problem, it was generally called daydreaming.
"All right. You two still have training tomorrow."
Kenichi waved his hand.
There should still be some time before the Chunin Exams.
The manga had not shown every passing day, but in reality, a fair amount of time had clearly passed before the exams began.
Kenichi had no intention of wasting that time.
He would continue training Naruto and Sasuke.
At the same time, he would keep refining and compressing his own chakra.
The amount of chakra Kenichi possessed continued to increase.
The price was that his body was gradually becoming paler and paler.
Fortunately, the change was not irreversible.
Kenichi had already found a method to deal with it.
Recently, he had been working on adjusting his body's coloration so that he could appear more normal.
"Okay."
Sasuke had no objections.
Naruto, still sprawled across the table, did not object either.
As far as Naruto was concerned, whatever his big brother told him to do, he would do.
And so, the three of them resumed their pleasant evening of drinking juice and playing cards.
After seeing Naruto and Kenichi off later that night, Sasuke turned back toward his messy house.
He scratched his head.
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
When was the last time this house had been so lively?
Sasuke shook his head and began cleaning the table.
Once everything was put away, he sat on his bed and pulled out the Uchiha family photo album.
He began flipping through it.
However, the longer Sasuke looked at the photographs, the more anger rose inside him.
Eventually, he closed the album, put it aside, and lay down on his bed.
Moonlight passed through the window and illuminated Sasuke's face.
"Hm?"
For some reason, Naruto's earlier words suddenly returned to his mind.
Treasure hunting?
Sasuke sat up.
Although he had never heard about any actual treasure maps inside his home, the Uchiha Clan had existed for an extremely long time.
Sasuke remembered that there were several interesting ancient records among the clan's belongings.
Thinking about it more carefully, he vaguely remembered seeing something in an old book before.
Something that had looked a little like a treasure map.
However, he could not remember exactly where.
He would have to search for it.
Sasuke continued looking until late into the night.
Eventually, he could no longer keep his eyes open and fell asleep on the bed.
On the nearby table lay a book titled Uchiha History of Chaos.
Sasuke vaguely remembered that the book might contain clues about treasure or something similar.
Maybe it did.
Maybe it did not.
Who knew?
Either way, he would give it to Naruto tomorrow.
At least that might keep the idiot occupied instead of constantly looking for trouble.
Thinking of Naruto, Sasuke could not help but smile faintly.
Whatever else could be said about him, Naruto was a friend Sasuke had genuinely acknowledged.
....
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