Chapter 104: The Crumbling Giant Tree

Amu searched the illustrated guidebook’s photos again but found no mention of any shrine... After all, this was just a reconstructed historical map, and some Uchiha shrine wouldn’t be a major landmark worth noting. It was quite normal that it wasn’t marked.

“Do you know if the Uchiha clan has some kind of shrine meeting place?” Amu asked Heiji with a glimmer of hope.

“Huh?” Heiji looked utterly puzzled; obviously, he wouldn’t know such specific details.

“Never mind, it’s nothing...” Amu sighed, switching the guidebook to the map view, staring at the Psychic Gym’s location, aimlessly tracing lines back and forth.

“Hmm?” Suddenly, Amu spotted a name that seemed vaguely familiar.

Not far from the Psychic Gym, the Nanka River flowed by...

Nanka Shrine!

With that clue, Amu immediately recalled the name that had been on the tip of his tongue earlier.

In the world of Naruto, the Uchiha clan’s gathering place, which also concealed the clan’s greatest secret underground, was said to be Nanka Shrine. Perhaps the legendary treasure was hidden there too?

“This Nanka River is...” Amu quickly asked Heiji.

“The Nanka River is the main water source of Kinkou City. Why do you ask?” Heiji’s impatience showed—Amu wasn’t helping solve mysteries and just kept pestering about treasure hunting.

“Do you know anything about Nanka Shrine... never mind.” Amu started to inquire but quickly realized Heiji wouldn’t know either.

If everyone knew about it, the historical ninja village map would surely mark it!

Clearly, no one in modern times knew of any “Nanka Shrine.”

Still, this didn’t stop Amu from speculating its location—first, Nanka Shrine should be right by the Nanka River; otherwise, the Uchiha clan’s naming logic would be confusing.

Second, it must be further from the center of Konoha Village than the clan’s actual territory; otherwise... the Nanka River also flows near the Hokage Rock, and the Uchiha clan surely wouldn’t hold secret meetings about “rebellion” there. It had to be somewhere beyond their clan lands, further from Konoha’s center!

That meant following the Nanka River past the Psychic Gym, away from the direction of the Hokage Rock, along the riverbank was a likely spot...

On the map, Amu found that this was the lower reaches of the Nanka River. Looking further, he came upon an important landmark in Kinkou City called the End Valley.

Hmm, it probably wouldn’t be beyond End Valley, which helped narrow down the location. It must be somewhere along the Nanka River between the “Kinkou Gym” and “End Park”!

With that decided, Amu summoned his Ironclad Rhinoceros...

Feeling faint, almost imperceptible gazes from behind, Amu took out a foldable safety helmet from his backpack, put it on, and headed toward the nearby Pokémon Center.

Though officially recognized by the League and allowed on city roads, the Ironclad Rhinoceros was definitely a “privileged” mount—most riders would clear the way when they saw one.

After all, everyone knew this beast was hard to stop once it got going!

At the Pokémon Center, Amu planned to swap out Gengar and Pikoxie—if they were going treasure hunting, Gengar would be more useful.

This was not the headquarters of the Kinkou City Pokémon Center where Amu stayed but another nearby branch.

As he approached the trade terminal, a video call from the Giant Tree Research Institute connected, and Amu saw Professor Giant Tree himself.

“Eh? Professor, you have some free time today...” Amu said, having called the Pokémon storage area at the research institute, not the professor’s own lab.

“You brat! Free time? Ever since your Pokémon arrived here, I haven’t had a moment’s peace! Now, immediately come pick them up! Don’t send them here again!” Professor Giant Tree shouted angrily.

The loud outburst drew many trainers’ glances.

Amu quickly apologized, saying “Sorry to disturb you,” realizing that Gengar and Pikoxie must have caused quite some trouble at the institute.

Soon, Gengar and Pikoxie were “sent back.”

In this world, Pokémon teleportation did not transfer the Poké Balls themselves; rather, the balls acted as receivers. When Pokémon were sent away, the balls remained with the trainer but could not release their Pokémon until they were returned from their foster care.

A trainer could only carry six active Poké Balls at once...

Similarly, the foster care centers truly housed the Pokémon, not just the balls.

After reactivating the Poké Balls for Gengar and Pikoxie, Amu left the Pokémon Center and found a secluded alley to release them.

“Really, why did they call us back now?” Gengar muttered.

“That place was kinda fun, Ghastly...” Pikoxie replied.

“We’re almost learning ‘Will-O-Wisp’ and ‘Fire Punch’!” Pikoxie added enthusiastically.

Amu: ...

“So why were you learning Fire-type moves at Professor Giant Tree’s institute?” he asked.

“Eh? I found something interesting and came looking for you,” Amu said, playing coy.

Pikoxie, meanwhile, was picking its nose while pretending to whisper to Gengar in a normal voice: “He definitely wants us to work for free, using us as fools!”

Amu: ...

“Do you guys know about Uchiha Madara’s treasure?” Amu asked, adopting a tempting tone.

“What’s that?” Pikoxie bounced, and Amu quickly dodged.

“Uchiha... sounds like a name from the ninja era,” Gengar said, showing his thirty years of travel experience by actually having heard of it.

“Exactly, a very powerful ninja who left behind a treasure!” Amu added, seeing their indifference, “It’s said to be connected to Ho-Oh and Zernias!”

At the mention of the two legendary beasts, Pikoxie and Gengar’s eyes lit up.

Amu then shared his estimated area and emphasized the importance of secrecy in their operation.

“So don’t act too conspicuous afterward... Hey! Where did you two steal those hats? Give them back!” Amu said helplessly as Gengar phasely slipped through walls, bringing two wide-brimmed hats to put on himself and Pikoxie.

“Do you even understand... looking like an ordinary Gengar and Pikoxie is the best way to stay unnoticed!” Amu corrected.

Just then, a faint scream came from afar...

“Huh? That’s... Sonoko’s voice!” Amu immediately ran toward the sound.

It was near the Nanka River, where it flowed by the Hokage Rock. The river wasn’t large there. On a small bridge, Sonoko, Kasumi, and Koyeh stood panicked while Misty was nowhere to be seen.

Amu’s heart tightened at Misty’s absence, and he urgently asked, “Where’s Misty?”

“Someone... committed suicide! Misty jumped in too!” Sonoko pointed anxiously near the bridge, explaining.