White's Treasure

After returning from the Land of Waves, Chiya spent three days lying in Konoha Hospital.

On the morning of the third day, the medical ninja had just placed his discharge papers by the bedside when the ward door was slammed open.

"Chiya!"

Naruto was the first to rush in, his voice loud enough to be heard out in the hallway.

Chiya was sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on his shoes. His hand jerked in fright, and one shoe nearly fell to the floor.

"Could you keep it down? This is a hospital."

Sakura came in behind him and immediately smacked Naruto.

"Idiot! Chiya just got discharged. What are you shouting for?!"

Rubbing his head, Naruto said aggrievedly, "I was just too excited!"

Sasuke leaned against the doorframe, watching Naruto and Sakura bicker, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Kakashi came in last, still holding that book, his visible eye crinkling.

"Looks like you recovered well."

Chiya nodded.

"Thank you for your concern, Sensei. I've fully recovered. Not even a scar was left behind."

At that moment, Naruto eagerly stepped forward, pulled a money pouch from his clothes, and slapped it onto the bed.

"Let me tell you some good news!"

The pouch struck the bed with a heavy thud.

Chiya's eyes immediately lit up.

"The payment?"

"Yep!" Naruto grinned smugly. "Kakashi-sensei said our mission isn't C-rank anymore. It's been upgraded to A-rank! The payment went up by a whole lot too!"

Chiya picked up the pouch and weighed it in his hand.

Good grief.

It was far more than they had agreed on before.

Although there were gold bars left behind by his father at home, they were too valuable. Chiya had planned to save them for a true emergency.

So ordinarily, he could only rely on Konoha's relief funds.

Now that he had such a large sum of money, he could buy plenty of ninja tools.

Wire, Explosive Tags, Soldier Pills, and spare kunai all needed restocking. After the battle in the Land of Waves, his ninja tool pouch was practically empty. If this kept up, next time something happened, he would have no choice but to bite people with his teeth.

Chiya put away the money pouch and said happily,

"Not bad. I can buy new equipment."

"If I'd had a few Explosive Tags last time, I might not have taken so many Senbon."

At the mention of Senbon, Naruto suddenly remembered something and hurriedly rummaged through his ninja tool pouch.

"Oh, right. There's this too."

He pulled out a small scroll and held it out to Chiya.

The scroll was not large. It was tied with a thin white cord and looked very clean.

"What is this?"

"Um..." Naruto pondered for a moment. "Haku insisted on giving it to you. He and Zabuza couldn't enter the village, so he asked me to bring it."

As he said that, Naruto's cheeks puffed up again.

"That guy Haku said he didn't have any treasures on him, so he gave this to you as a discharge gift. I asked what it was, but he wouldn't tell me. He wouldn't even let me open it. So stingy!"

Chiya looked at the scroll in his hand and smiled.

Haku did not seem like the type to give someone random junk.

There was probably something useful inside.

"They left?"

"They did." Naruto leaned against the window, sounding less disappointed than before. "But don't worry. Haku said they won't do that kind of work anymore. They want to find a quieter place to live."

Sakura said softly, "That's probably for the best."

Kakashi merely glanced out the window as well.

Chiya tucked the scroll into his clothes.

"That's good."

Naruto quickly perked up again, raising a fist as he shouted, "All right! To celebrate Chiya getting discharged, let's go eat at Ichiraku Ramen!"

A vein twitched on Sakura's forehead.

"You idiot, Chiya just got out of the hospital. Of course he should eat something nutritious!"

Naruto covered his head and shrank back.

"Ramen is nutritious!"

"What part of it is nutritious?"

"It has noodles, soup, and char siu!"

Sakura looked ready to hit him again.

Sitting on the edge of the bed and watching the two argue, Chiya suddenly found the noise rather pleasant.

Sasuke stood by the door, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Chiya happened to catch it.

"Sasuke, did you just smile?"

Sasuke's face immediately turned cold.

"Tch. Only idiots smile."

Naruto immediately crowded over.

"Quit acting all cool. I saw it too! You definitely smiled!"

"You're so annoying!"

The ward immediately became noisy again.

Kakashi leaned against the doorway, watching his students. His eye curved slightly as well, and then he pulled out the little book he always carried.

Beneath Konoha.

There was little light inside the Root Base.

Danzo sat in the shadows, his fingers slowly tapping against his cane.

The Root ninja kneeling before him kept his head lowered, his voice utterly flat.

"The five sent to the Land of Waves have been confirmed dead. Their bodies were not recovered. There were severe burn marks at the scene. Preliminary findings suggest some form of high-level Fire Release."

Danzo's expression darkened frighteningly.

"One special jonin and four chunin."

His voice was low.

"And they still couldn't bring back a freshly graduated Uchiha Clan brat?"

The Root ninja kneeling on the ground did not answer.

Danzo narrowed his eyes, his grip on his cane tightening.

"Keep watching him."

"Yes."

"Do not act rashly again."

The Root ninja raised his head slightly.

Danzo said coldly, "Kakashi is already suspicious. Hiruzen's side will certainly take precautions as well."

"Yes."

Inside the Hokage Office, the smell of smoke was rather heavy.

The Third Hokage sat behind his desk, holding a pipe in his hand without taking a puff from it for a long time.

Kakashi stood before the desk. After recounting what had happened in the Land of Waves, the room remained quiet for quite some time.

"Lightning Cutter pierced through his chest?"

The Third Hokage finally spoke.

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. The wound was severe. Under normal circumstances, there was no way he could have survived." Kakashi paused.

"White chakra appeared around the edges of the wound, and the recovery was extremely fast. After returning to the village, the hospital examined him. His internal organs had also been repaired in a short time."

The Third Hokage held his pipe as smoke drifted around him, making him squint.

Kakashi continued, "That method of recovery... is somewhat like Naruto's."

Once those words were spoken, the office became even quieter.

Of course, the Third Hokage knew what Kakashi meant.

The Nine-Tails was sealed inside Naruto, granting him healing abilities far beyond those of ordinary people after he was injured. But Chiya was different. No one in the Uchiha Clan was a Jinchuriki.

At least, there was no such record in Konoha.

"You suspect that there is a Tailed Beast inside him as well?"

Kakashi did not answer immediately.

After a while, he said, "It is only a suspicion."

The Third Hokage shook his head. "It can't be a Tailed Beast. Every Tailed Beast is under the control of the various ninja villages."

Kakashi said nothing further.

The room fell silent for a long while, until the Third Hokage coughed twice from the smoke.

"Find an opportunity to examine his body," the Third Hokage said. "For now, observe him more closely."

"I understand."

"Also, others have set their sights on him. We cannot let him be taken away."

"Yes."

After Kakashi left, the Third Hokage sat alone in the office without saying a word for a long time.

The sunlight outside the window was bright and warm.

Konoha's streets were filled with lively voices, as if nothing had happened.

The Third Hokage lowered his head to look at the mission report on his desk, his finger resting on Chiya's name.

After a long while, he let out a soft sigh.

"Another troublesome child."