Chapter 103: History

“But... this doesn’t look like something that would start a fire, does it? Did you notice any traps or mechanisms?” Yumi asked Heiji and Conan for confirmation.

“No.” Both shook their heads helplessly.

Amu was a bit surprised upon hearing this—How could they have found nothing? Didn’t she remember they had discovered something?

But then she thought it over and felt it made sense—in the world of Pokémon, there are countless ways to start a fire remotely. It would be foolish to use a mechanism that leaves evidence.

“As for the magatama... could it be that legend?” Sarutobi suddenly spoke up.

“Huh? What legend?” Yumi immediately pressed.

“The legend goes that about 800 years ago, shortly after the founding of Konoha Ninja Village, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama parted ways due to differing ideologies, and fought a battle in the Valley of the End…” Sarutobi began to recount in great detail.

Impatient Heiji couldn’t help but interrupt, “Everyone knows that. And then?”

“It’s said that although Hashirama won that battle, Madara’s nearly divine ‘Great Fox Bandit’ skill—an ultimate form of ‘Thief’—allowed him, at the last moment, to steal a fragment of Hashirama’s ‘Life Force’!” Sarutobi recited a so-called legend he had heard somewhere.

Amu felt as if she had a mouthful of nonsense she didn’t know how to spit out.

“Huh? What kind of legend is that? How could there be such a powerful ‘Great Fox Bandit’!” Heiji was clearly unconvinced.

Well, that was also why he didn’t know the legend—he was a ‘Senju faction’ supporter, so he wasn’t familiar with the tales about Uchiha Madara.

“Shut up,” Yumi gestured to Heiji not to interrupt, clearly enjoying the story.

Sarutobi continued, “It’s said that the fragment of ‘Life Force’ combined with Madara’s ‘Phoenix Feather’ magatama, transforming into a special power. This power allowed Madara to return decades later…”

“Wait, wait! Dude, based on current archaeological findings, the battle decades later was just other members of the Uchiha clan using Madara’s name!” Heiji couldn’t help but correct.

“No, that’s just one theory! Anyway, in this legend, it’s Madara who returns!” Sarutobi, interrupted repeatedly, grew a little annoyed.

Obviously, the historical records from that time were vague, leading to much controversy now. Amu tended to believe Sarutobi’s version—it aligned better with the history she knew.

“Heiji...” Yumi gave her foolish cousin a warning glance, signaling him to keep quiet.

Sarutobi then said, “It’s said that this transformed special power doesn’t fade even after hundreds of years... no, even longer! Madara hid this power in a secret place, and only those who find all three ink magatama can locate it!”

“So you’re saying... this is related to the legendary Uchiha treasure?” Yumi looked skeptically at the evidence bag in front of her.

Though Heiji still doubted the legend, he said, “Come to think of it, it’s quite possible the victim was drawn in by this legend! Either searching for magatama left behind, or already having one and looking for the treasure’s entrance!”

It didn’t require the legend to be true—only that the deceased believed it was!

“Then it doesn’t necessarily have to be murder,” Yumi said logically after some thought.

“Huh?” Heiji realized he might have led the investigation astray.

Though he didn’t understand the exact method, Heiji instinctively believed it was murder!

But if the death was caused by treasure hunting, it could have been due to unknown forces.

“Then let’s investigate that first!” Yumi said, looking up at the portrait of the First Hokage.

“In that case, can we go back to the hotel and rest? We haven’t eaten dinner yet…” Balding Uchiha asked.

Yumi hesitated—since the case had become so ambiguous that even murder couldn’t be confirmed, and they had already searched and registered Pokémon, there seemed no reason to detain anyone further.

At that moment, Amu spoke up timely, “Wait, you all are fans of the ninja village culture, right? You must know this legend as well?”

Balding Uchiha and middle-aged Uzumaki’s faces stiffened immediately...

Sure enough, Yumi looked at them suspiciously—if they knew the legend too, there was the possibility someone used it to ‘kill.’

Moreover, this made Sarutobi the least suspicious since he had voluntarily told the story!

While Yumi was eyeing them dubiously, Kimiya ran over to report, “Detective Yumi, the victim’s Poké Ball has been decrypted... the Pokémon he carried is a Mud Fish, here are the detailed stats.”

If a trainer dies unexpectedly and the Poké Ball is encrypted, it can be sent to a Pokémon Center to be unlocked. Even if not decrypted, it will automatically release after a certain time.

Heiji hurried over and didn’t forget to lift Conan to show him as well.

“Mud Fish... having the move ‘Dig’ is one thing, but also ‘Flash’? This setup clearly screams treasure hunting,” Yumi deduced.

If it was treasure hunting, the death was likely caused by the trap guarding the treasure. Ancient people, especially during the ninja village era, were quite fierce.

And if someone was killed because of ‘treasure hunting,’ the suspects weren’t limited to the same travel group!

“You all should return to the hotel first, then wait there for further notice. You may be summoned again anytime,” Yumi said, glaring at each of them. But obviously, a fierce look alone wouldn’t make the culprit confess.

“Oh! Right,” Amu suddenly remembered something and pounded her palm.

“Yumi, I’m going to step out for a bit. Can you keep an eye on these two?” Amu greeted Yumi and seemed about to leave.

Yumi waved dismissively, signaling she understood.

“What did you think of?” Conan and Heiji looked at Amu curiously.

Had she noticed some clue they hadn’t?

“I’m going to check out this place!” Amu confidently pointed to a location on the Pokédex map.

To be precise, it was a ‘photo’—a picture taken earlier in the Tower of Babel, not a current map, but a reconstructed ancient map from the Konoha Village era!

Amu pointed exactly to the Uchiha clan’s territory.

“Huh?” Conan looked at Amu in confusion.

“Since it’s Madara’s treasure, it’s probably hidden underground in the Uchiha clan’s territory,” Amu felt clever.

Conan and Heiji exchanged looks: This girl hadn’t really thought through the case!

“By the way, where is this now? Can you tell me?” Amu asked, offering the Pokédex to Heiji.

“No need to check. That’s the location of the Psychic-type gym,” Heiji said without looking.

Yes, judging from the ancient map, the Uchiha clan’s territory was at the edge of Konoha Village, but now—Golden City was much larger than Konoha.

This spot was near the city center, where the official Golden City gym stood!

Hearing this, Amu’s face immediately fell—is going treasure hunting at Naze’s gym a little too bold?

Yet, interrupted like this, Amu recalled that from a Naruto perspective, if there really was an Uchiha treasure, it was probably more likely hidden beneath some shrine than just the clan’s territory.

What was the name of that shrine again?

Amu couldn’t remember the name at the moment...