Treasure Hunt at Sea

Time at sea always passed slowly.

Naruto fared a bit better—he had a Flying Broom, so he could zip around here and there when he had nothing to do.

Sakura, who had also visited the Scratch-off ticket shop, was thoroughly bored.

She sat by the ship's edge, staring at the endless ocean, letting out a melancholy sigh.

Suddenly, she remembered something.

At the Scratch-off shop, she had won a Treasure Book.

She had even made a point to bring it along when she left.

How could she have forgotten about that!

She quickly rummaged through her backpack, and within two minutes, the book appeared before her eyes.

The cover looked old and worn, carrying a distinct air of age.

Beside her, Kakashi spoke with some surprise.

"Sakura, what's that?"

Sakura pursed her lips in a smile. "I won it at the Scratch-off shop. They say it's a Treasure Book."

"A Treasure Book!"

Kakashi's eyes lit up, and at the same time, the other passengers on the ship gathered around.

Among them were those whose eyes gleamed with greed.

These people cast casual glances in her direction.

As if they wanted to know what kind of treasure was hidden inside that Treasure Book.

"Sakura, how do you use this Treasure Book?" Kakashi pressed.

Sakura flipped open a page and frowned.

"When I won it at the Scratch-off shop, the owner only told me it held the treasure in everyone's heart."

"As for how to use it... I think I forgot to ask!"

The people around her nearly stumbled.

But just as everyone was finding this absurd, the Treasure Book suddenly burst with dazzling light.

On the blank page, a strange pattern appeared.

Sakura looked closely, feeling like the pattern seemed familiar.

Then it clicked.

"This... isn't this the ship we're on right now?"

Her exclamation drew a crowd of onlookers.

On the black outline of the ship's hull, two Red Cross marks were drawn.

"I suppose those Red Cross marks are where the treasure is," Kakashi said quietly.

A few sharp-eyed people noticed this too.

Sakura nodded firmly.

She stood up and walked toward the nearest Red Cross mark.

Her movement alone set nearly half the ship in motion.

They were all curious whether this Treasure Book could actually lead to real treasure.

At that moment, the Captain also came closer.

This ship was his, and he didn't recall ever stashing any treasure on it.

Out of curiosity, he followed along.

According to the Treasure Book's instructions, the closer Red Cross mark was at the lowest deck, inside the Boiler Room.

Soon, the group reached the Boiler Room.

The room was sweltering hot, with only a dark-skinned Burly Man shoveling coal into the furnace.

"What treasure could possibly be here?" the Captain snorted dismissively, a contemptuous smile on his face.

Several crew members behind him joined in the mockery.

"Your book must be fake. Treasure? Please."

"There's nothing here but coal dust and a mute Burly Man who can't talk!"

"What, is the Burly Man the treasure? Or is his shovel the treasure?"

Sakura paid them no mind.

Based on the items Naruto and the others had previously pulled out...

Items from the Scratch-off shop could never be this useless!

There had to be treasure here!

The other passengers on board all wore varied expressions.

Sakura tried to calm herself and walked toward the spot marked by the Red Cross.

Just as she was about to reach the destination, the dark-skinned Burly Man suddenly stepped forward.

His expression was extremely tense.

Seeing this, Kakashi directly blocked his path and said with an easy smile.

"What are you so nervous about? It's not like we're actually after your treasure."

"I, Kakashi, swear by my name as a Konoha Jonin that no one here will touch your treasure."

"Otherwise, they'll be making an enemy of this Konoha Jonin!"

Konoha's strength was known throughout the world.

Under normal circumstances, absolutely no one would be willing to take such a huge risk as to offend a Konoha ninja.

Yet the Burly Man still dodged and weaved, trying to rush forward and subdue Sakura.

"Sakura, be quick about it," Kakashi said softly.

Sakura nodded and quickened her pace.

When she reached the spot marked by the Red Cross, she found a pile of coal stacked there.

If it were just that, how could it have made the Burly Man so nervous?

She found a shovel nearby and started digging through it directly.

It took only a few seconds.

A glimmer of crystalline light came from beneath the coal.

Sakura's eyes went wide, and she sped up.

Before long, she dug out a diamond the size of a thumb from the coal.

Seeing this, the Captain was stunned.

"Captain, isn't that the diamond you lost a few days ago?"

A crew member said quietly from behind.

The Captain glared furiously at the Burly Man, his breathing suddenly rapid. He said to the crew behind him.

"Tie him up. Hand him over to the Patrol once we're ashore!"

"Yes!" several crew members answered in unison.

Looking at the dazzling diamond in Sakura's hand, the Captain rubbed his hands together and said with a grin.

"Thank you all. Now, can you give the diamond back to me?"

Sakura reached out woodenly.

But just then, Kakashi suddenly stepped between them and said with a smile.

"This diamond counts as stolen goods too. We'll hand it over to the Patrol together once we're ashore!"

With that, he tilted his head and reminded her, "Sakura, hold onto it for now."

"Okay!" Sakura nodded.

After this treasure hunt, many people were utterly amazed.

They crowded around Sakura one after another, asking about the origin of the Treasure book.

With a Konoha Jonin right there, they definitely couldn't try to snatch it by force.

So, finding the source of the Treasure book became their top concern.

"This Treasure book was won from the Invincible Scratch-off in Konoha."

"If you want one, you can try your luck yourselves!"

Everyone's eyes lit up. Even the Captain and his crew quickly pulled out paper and pen to jot down the address of the Invincible Scratch-off.

After saying this, Sakura looked at the remaining Red Cross on the book and felt an itch she couldn't scratch.

The onlookers all suggested that Sakura keep searching.

She nodded and said, "Alright, then let's go find it together!"

Following the route instructions, they soon arrived at the door of the Captain's quarters.

"According to the hint, this treasure is inside the Captain's quarters. Let's go take a look together!"

After obtaining the Captain's permission, she led the crowd of onlookers into the Captain's quarters.

The Captain himself was puzzled. He didn't remember putting any treasure in his room.

Sakura followed the Red Cross's markings, searching all the way.

Finally, in a pitch-black corner, she found a dusty leather suitcase covered in cobwebs.

The moment he saw the suitcase, the Captain lost his composure and stammered.

"How can it be here? Wasn't it thrown away before?"

Then he walked up to Sakura and directly covered the suitcase, saying.

"Let's forget about this treasure. Don't let too many people see it."

[Author's Note]: A note for readers: Starting January 1, 2021, this book updates at least ten thousand words daily. On the day before or on major holidays, there will be a massive burst of updates (fifteen chapters or more). On major holidays, updates will not be interrupted. Dear readers, for such a conscientious author, I hope you can offer your support by casting a Silver Note at the end of the chapter (Silver Notes cast earlier are invalid; only those at the end count). Additionally, with so many updates every day, I hope you can keep reading consistently. Ke Meng is a full-time author; without your readership, it's hard for Ke Meng to survive!