The tunnel was instantly thrown into chaos!
"Hattori Ryuuno?! Why is he here?"
"Did they come with a purpose?"
"Damn it! Who leaked the information?"
"Hattori Ryuuno and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?! How many more are there?!"
Under normal circumstances, the Konoha ninja in the tunnel would not have panicked just because an enemy appeared. But this time was different. Everyone knew who Hattori Ryuuno was!
He was one of the strongest second-in-command figures among the Five Great Ninja Villages! His reputation surpassed even Danzo's!
Of course, if it was just Hattori Ryuuno alone, it wouldn't be a problem.
White Fang was here to counter him!
Hattori Ryuuno alone couldn't cause too much trouble!
But the problem was the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were here too!
For Hattori Ryuuno and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to appear together... this meant the Mist had come fully prepared!
After all, Hattori Ryuuno was the Mizukage's Advisor, while the Seven Ninja Swordsmen belonged to the Mist's Anbu forces, which were under the Third Mizukage's direct command.
Normally, to avoid internal conflicts, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would never operate under Hattori Ryuuno.
But this time...
"Silence!" White Fang commanded in a low, forceful tone.
The tunnel fell into immediate silence.
"How much longer to break the seal?!" White Fang turned and barked.
"One minute... at most one minute!" the Anbu sealing expert replied hastily.
"Hurry! Open it as fast as possible!" White Fang ordered before turning back and shouting, "Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"Yes, sir!" A resounding chorus of voices responded in unison!
"Listen to me carefully!" White Fang continued. "Once we enter the vault, your priority is to search for scrolls and documents—anything easily portable, take it with you! As for gold and other valuables, if you can't carry them, destroy them! If we can't take it, we won't let the enemy have it! Understood?!"
"Understood!" the ninja responded firmly.
At this moment, everyone was tense—even White Fang himself!
Retreating was not an option. Nor could they afford to engage Hattori Ryuuno before opening the vault.
No one could guarantee Konoha would win the battle. If they lost, who would the treasure belong to?
That's why they had to open the vault first!
And since they were now racing against time, White Fang had no choice but to issue the brutal command to destroy the treasure if necessary.
Normally, transporting gold and other treasures wouldn't be an issue without enemy interference. But with powerful foes approaching, carrying heavy loot into battle was impossible.
To White Fang, the true value of the Whirlpool Vault wasn't money.
Both Konoha and the Mist knew this very well!
This wasn't about wealth.
It was about classified documents, schematics for Whirlpool Clan artifacts, and—most importantly—the forbidden sealing jutsu scrolls of the Whirlpool Clan!
These must never fall into the hands of the Mist! White Fang had already made up his mind—
If the battle turned against them, he would destroy everything and retreat!
If Konoha couldn't have it, neither could the Mist!
"Could Red Eye have been captured?" the Hyuga ninja suddenly speculated. "He was the only one who knew the exact location of the vault..."
White Fang's eyes flashed with realization. "Not impossible..."
—
BOOM!
The underground tunnel shook violently!
"It's open! It's open!" the sealing expert exclaimed.
The massive stone door split down the middle and began to slowly swing open.
"Move in!"
"Go!"
Over a hundred Konoha ninja rushed into the chamber beyond... and then suddenly froze.
They should have immediately started collecting the treasure.
But... there was nothing to take.
The chamber wasn't completely empty.
But the only object in the entire room was a luxurious wooden bed in the center, covered in blankets and pillows, all coated in dust.
This was what Haruto Saito had left behind the night he escaped. Due to the emergency at the time—after learning Tsunade was in danger—he had rushed out, completely forgetting to store the bed in his item space.
Aside from that one bed, the entire treasury was empty!
The floor showed signs that many objects had once been stored here—there were marks of chests, stacked items, even burn marks from explosions where Haruto Saito had tested his sealing explosive tags.
Originally, there had been several mummified Whirlpool Clan corpses here... but they had been incinerated when Haruto Saito conducted his explosive tag tests.
"Where's the treasure?!"
"Where are all the valuables?!"
"Why is there only a bed?!"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
They quickly gathered around the luxurious bed, inspecting it closely—since it was the only object in the room, they had no choice but to examine it.
"Judging by the material and craftsmanship, it's all Konoha-made! The bed, the blankets, even the pillows!" White Fang observed. "The carvings on the bed's frame—this design only became popular this year."
"Did Red Eye leave this?" Lord Rakuyama asked.
"Most likely... He must have slept here," White Fang said, his tone complicated.
Everyone exchanged awkward glances.
Haruto Saito brought a bed on a mission?!
How did he carry it into the Land of Whirlpools? How did he transport it into the vault? None of it made sense!
It was completely baffling!
"Where's the treasure?" the Hyuga ninja asked.
White Fang had no answer.
Where did it go?!
The floor clearly showed evidence that a large quantity of valuables had once been stored here.
But everything was gone!
At this point, only Haruto Saito could explain what had happened!
Had he moved the treasure elsewhere?
Many people were starting to suspect that was the case.
—
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
A fierce gust of wind roared through the tunnel entrance—someone was approaching fast!
"Stay alert!" White Fang calmly commanded.
SHING!
In an instant, every Konoha ninja drew their weapons!
From the tunnel entrance, a speeding figure suddenly skidded to a halt—
Then, seven more figures appeared behind him.
It was Hattori Ryuuno and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!
Hattori Ryuuno had guessed that White Fang might try to destroy the treasure, so he had rushed ahead with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!
Of course, this was risky—their main strike force was still a few minutes behind.
But in the tight confines of an underground chamber, numbers weren't always an advantage—sometimes they were a liability. And Hattori Ryuuno had absolute confidence in his own strength!
He entered the vault, glanced around—and his face changed dramatically!
"Where's the treasure?!"
"Where's everything?!"
What the hell?!
Had Konoha already taken everything? How?! He hadn't seen them carry anything out!
The Mist had sacrificed so much for this treasure, but now—
It was gone?!
"You're too late," White Fang said coolly. "We were too late too. The treasure is already gone."