"Let's go!" Haruto Saito said grimly. "Just dig exactly as I tell you! Don't mess around. If you break something valuable, I'm not paying you."
"When do I get my ten million ryo?" Tsunade asked with a smile, stretching out her hand toward Haruto Saito.
"I'll pay you! What's the rush?" Haruto twitched his lips. "Once the Hokage gives me the money, you'll get yours! Now stop nagging, let's get to work!"
"Fine!" Tsunade tilted her head, motioning for Haruto to go first.
"Uh… Can I help?" Inuzuka Ken suddenly called out. "Haruto-san, you can hire me too! I don't need as much money…"
Haruto gave Inuzuka Ken a strange look. At first, he thought the guy genuinely wanted to help, but then he brought up money—just like Tsunade!
Inuzuka Ken chuckled awkwardly. Honestly, he hadn't planned on asking for money, but Haruto had been so generous earlier, he figured he might as well try his luck.
"Ken, how could you?" Tsunade feigned a moral stance. "We should be content with what we have. We're Konoha shinobi—helping each other is normal! My dear Haruto-san, don't you agree?" She had a serene, wise expression, completely ignoring her own shamelessness.
"You're unbelievable!" Haruto glared at Tsunade, gritting his teeth. Then, with a powerful step, he shot toward the mountain wall.
Tsunade seemed in high spirits. She gave Inuzuka Ken a grin before following Haruto.
"Over there… yes… right there…"
"Here, smash it! Use full force!"
"This spot… Let me calculate… Yes! Break it open!"
"No, no, that's off… over here!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Under Haruto's instructions, Tsunade had become a full-fledged laborer, pounding away at the mountain. It wasn't a huge mountain—only about the height of a twenty-story building—but it was still a mountain. Tsunade could smash the peak with a punch, but breaking down the whole thing was time-consuming and exhausting.
Haruto's treasure sense was erratic. He suspected it was because the treasure covered a large area, but something felt off—as if the treasure's location kept shifting.
Could treasure move? That didn't seem likely. It was an unusual situation. Unless they actually dug it up, he couldn't be sure.
Down below, Inuzuka Ken and Namikaze Minato had moved far away. The mountain was collapsing bit by bit, expanding the danger zone. Since they hadn't had breakfast, Inuzuka Ken caught some fish from a nearby river and grilled them over a fire, sharing with Minato.
Time passed.
Five hours later.
10 AM.
"You little brat! Are you messing with me? Where's the treasure?!" Tsunade finally exploded.
The mountain was covered in massive craters and ravines. Half of it had already been smashed apart. Tsunade stood in a deep pit, glaring up at Haruto with a dark expression. "If you tricked me and there's no treasure, I'm burying you alive!"
"Quiet!" Haruto frowned, shaking his head. "Something's wrong. The treasure keeps changing positions, but it hasn't left this mountain."
"You're messing with me!" Tsunade gritted her teeth.
"Relax! I'm giving you ten million ryo, remember? How about this—whether we find the treasure or not, you still get paid. Consider it a one-day hire. Deal?" Haruto reassured her. His problem now wasn't Tsunade—it was figuring out what was going on.
"I still get the money?" Tsunade blinked, then grinned. "Alright, boss! Where do I smash next?"
Haruto rolled his eyes. Tsunade's shameless greed was beyond words.
"Wait a bit… Just give me a second!" Haruto said before running down the mountain.
A short while later, he returned with Inuzuka Ken and his ninja dog. He pointed at a tunnel in the pit. "I'm hiring you for a day—fifty thousand ryo! Start searching from here. If you find anything strange, report immediately!"
"Got it, boss! Komaru, go!" Inuzuka Ken was fired up.
As expected, he was just like Tsunade!
Komaru, a high-level ninja dog, had an exceptionally keen sense of smell. But after thoroughly searching the entire mountain, it found nothing. Haruto had anticipated this—if it truly was the Meiji treasure, it had been buried for over four hundred years. Any traceable scent would've long since faded.
Tsunade climbed out of the pit, seeing Haruto's furrowed brow. She frowned slightly. "You sure you didn't miscalculate? I thought your ability was hit-or-miss?"
She no longer doubted Haruto's intentions. He had already promised to pay her, regardless of whether they found treasure.
"Tsunade, I need you to return to Konoha and issue a mission for me." Haruto looked at her seriously. "I'll put up another ten million ryo for fifty A-rank missions! Gather a team—it needs to be clear that this is a mountain excavation job."
"Kid." Tsunade saw Haruto's determination and sighed. "Maybe you should stop. If you miscalculated, then so be it. There's no treasure here. No matter how much you spend or how many people you hire, it won't change that. I'll even forfeit my payment. You can cancel the whole thing."
"I didn't miscalculate." Haruto shook his head firmly. "I will dig it up! Just go. Even if I'm wrong, I can afford to lose a few million ryo."
"You reckless brat! You're gambling—you know that?!"
"And you have the nerve to lecture me about gambling?"
"You little—fine! Waste your money, see if I care!" Tsunade jabbed Haruto's forehead a few times before vanishing into the distance, heading back toward Konoha.
In just over an hour, Tsunade covered more than a hundred kilometers, reaching Konoha.
She had taken almost an entire night to reach Haruto earlier because she had to follow Komaru's tracking pace. But on her way back, she could use her full speed.
Dusk. The setting sun painted the sky crimson.
Tsunade finally returned to Meiji Mountain, bringing over two hundred people—Konoha's Defense Corps Vanguard Battalion! The entire 213-man battalion had accepted the fifty A-rank missions.
Haruto listened to Tsunade's report, then immediately gave the order.
He was going to tear down the entire mountain!
The treasure's location kept shifting, but it was definitely inside the mountain. Searching randomly was inefficient. A more direct approach was best—leveling the whole thing!
And so, with Tsunade as the main force, the mountain was systematically broken down. The debris was transported to a nearby forest.
With an entire battalion working together, progress was rapid.
As the sky darkened, night approaching, a sudden shout rang out from the distance—
"Over here! There's a tunnel! Come check this out!"
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