Haruto Saito immediately took out all the money notes and carefully counted them. To his astonishment, the total sum amounted to a staggering eight hundred million ryo!
Just as he was about to revel in his fortune, his expression turned sour in an instant.
Because he realized something!
These were currency notes from Uzushiogakure! Issued by the Uzumaki Clan within the Land of Whirlpools! Their design was strikingly similar to the currency notes of the Land of Fire. It was said that the new generation of currency from the Land of Whirlpools was modeled after the Land of Fire's currency!
But now… these were nothing more than worthless scraps of paper!
The Uzumaki Clan had perished! Uzushiogakure had been destroyed! There was no longer any institution capable of exchanging these notes for gold or silver—they were utterly useless!
In fact, in the months leading up to the Uzumaki Clan's downfall, when they were already facing complete annihilation, the Land of Whirlpools' currency had already lost its value.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Haruto Saito cursed in frustration and threw the currency notes aside.
All that excitement for nothing!
He continued opening the boxes.
Haruto Saito opened dozens of boxes, but they all contained useless scrolls.
This underground hall had several clusters of stacked boxes—some places had about a dozen, while others had over a hundred. Some boxes were scattered around randomly, seemingly thrown aside in a hurry.
Haruto moved to another pile and resumed opening boxes.
War intelligence! Historical records! Biographies of prominent Uzumaki Clan figures! Financial reports from Uzushiogakure, population statistics, economic assessments… practically everything one could imagine! But none of it was of any use to him.
After opening more than two hundred boxes, all he had found was trash.
Standing by a stone wall, Haruto Saito picked up yet another small box and opened it.
More money notes!
Again?
Haruto immediately pulled out a note to examine it—this time, it was currency from the Land of Water! He flipped through the stack… he also found notes from the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. They were all legitimate!
This was real money—currency he could actually spend!
Haruto carefully counted everything. The total came to two hundred and fifty million ryo!
Now he had truly struck gold!
"Hahahahahahaha…" Haruto Saito laughed heartily, his voice echoing through the vast underground chamber. After laughing for more than ten seconds, he suddenly stopped, his face returning to a neutral expression.
How boring.
He was just entertaining himself.
Even after obtaining two hundred million ryo, he only felt a fleeting moment of excitement because, at this point, he already had more money than he could spend. Moreover, money wasn't what he had come here for!
He hadn't even glanced at the massive pile of gold and silver treasures yet.
Haruto continued opening boxes.
It was a tedious process. One box after another. Even the scattered boxes strewn across the hall were examined, but nothing particularly valuable turned up.
After searching through most of the hall, he reached the farthest end, where a cluster of large and small boxes was stacked against the stone wall—about a dozen in total.
The topmost box looked particularly special!
It was a very small metallic box, exuding an air of elegance. It had a black and red finish, adorned with intricate patterns—all of which were related to the Uzumaki Clan.
As soon as Haruto's hand touched the box, he realized…
It was sealed!
"Ah… the good stuff must be inside here…" Haruto Saito muttered, studying the box. The sealing technique was incredibly intricate, and there were multiple layers of seals! He had no way to undo them. If he attempted to break it open by force… that wouldn't work!
The box was too small. If he used brute force, who knew if the contents inside would be damaged!
Whatever was inside had to be extremely important!
Haruto could already guess what it might be!
The Uzumaki Clan's most precious legacy!
Sealing techniques!
Of course, it wouldn't just be ordinary sealing techniques!
These had to be A-rank or S-rank forbidden sealing arts!
Of course, that was just his assumption. He couldn't say for certain what was inside.
He stored the sealed box into his inventory space and continued opening boxes.
He opened another box…
Inside were weapons! All of them were sheathed katanas—dozens of them. Haruto randomly unsheathed one and let out a whistle of admiration. A fine blade!
There was also a scroll in the box. Haruto opened it and found records detailing the owners of these swords!
These were the weapons of the successive rulers of the Land of Whirlpools! In other words, the Uzumaki Clan's clan leaders from over the centuries!
Hmm… could be worth something!
Haruto kept opening boxes.
He soon opened a small one containing a golden scroll and two insignias!
"This looks like a royal decree," Haruto mused, opening the scroll. Sure enough, it was a succession decree!
It didn't specify a successor—any Uzumaki descendant who made it here and retrieved this decree would be recognized as the new clan leader! The decree also listed the exact assets within this treasury!
"...To the descendants who have endured hardship, restoring the Uzumaki Clan and rebuilding Uzushiogakure is your mission! This treasury contains gold and silver worth two hundred and fifty million ryo, along with currency notes totaling another two hundred and fifty million ryo… This is the foundation of our clan's revival… I do not know when you will arrive, nor do I know what state the world will be in at that time… But I hope that you will overcome all hardships and once again spread the name of the Uzumaki Clan throughout the shinobi world…"
Well, that saved him from doing the math!
The total assets in this treasury—both in cash and valuables—amounted to five hundred million ryo!
Clearly, this was the last remaining fortune of the Uzumaki Clan!
The two insignias mentioned in the scroll were also inside the box—one was the Clan Leader's Insignia, and the other was the Ruler's Insignia of the Land of Whirlpools!
From this, it was evident that when the Uzumaki Clan faced certain doom, they had already prepared for their demise. They had dispersed their last surviving members, leaving behind this hidden wealth in hopes of one day reviving their clan!
"Sigh… rest in peace," Haruto Saito muttered as he finished reading the scroll.
Of course, he was going to take all the money. The Uzumaki Clan wouldn't be revived—it wasn't necessary. After all, he knew that the future Seventh Hokage of Konoha would bear the Uzumaki name!
Whether Naruto Uzumaki would even be born was uncertain—after all, Haruto was well aware that his existence had already caused significant changes in the shinobi world's timeline.
Suddenly, the grand underground hall trembled violently! Dust and debris fell from above.
Haruto Saito looked up, unsure of what was happening.
*******
Above the Uzumaki treasury, on the surface, in the dark expanse of the Poison Forest!
"Wind Release: Tornado Blossom Jutsu!"
"Earth Release: Rock Fortress!"
"Ninja Art: Thousand Serpent Surge!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A fierce battle raged on, with ten shinobi engaging in a brutal clash! Winds howled, flames surged, and blades flashed as the battlefield was engulfed in chaos!
Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru vs. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!
The seven infamous swordsmen were all injured!
On Tsunade's side, Jiraiya had suffered severe wounds, while Orochimaru, having used multiple forbidden jutsu, was in dire condition. Only Tsunade remained unscathed.
Ever since their location had been exposed, they had been engaged in a relentless battle with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in the Poison Forest for hours!
The situation was growing increasingly perilous!
Though they had not yet been defeated, they had been at a disadvantage from the very beginning! And their chakra reserves were depleting faster than those of their enemies!