Finding the Dragon Blade

"Where do we even start to look for this thing? For all we know it could be all the way in the Land of Iron by now," grumbled Kankuro. He was exaggerating but he was correct about it being far away from here. We were also working with a time limit. I doubted we would be let go if we hadn't found the Dragon Blade by the time negotiations were finished. I didn't think we would be allowed to be executed but possibly arrested. Arresting us would most likely only be temporary but we would then miss the chunin exams. I couldn't miss those exams, they were far too important.

"First thing we have to do is find out where the Dragon Blade was stored. We need to figure out its security to see who would have been able to steal it," I said as I looked around. The problem with that was that the villagers probably wouldn't tell us where the blade had been kept. Their current attitude was less than helpful towards our investigation. This would be a very tough search if we didn't get any help.

"The Dragon Blade was stored in the Hall of Masterpieces inside a special chest," said a voice from behind me. We all turned and found the silver-haired ninja from earlier. He looked much more confident now that he wasn't around his comrades. Looking closer, I realized this guy wasn't much older than us, probably only three or four years at most.

"Special chest? What do you mean," asked Temari.

"It was a chest made by a legendary locksmith to keep extremely valuable artifacts safe," said the silver-haired man. A legendary locksmith? This meant that someone with unique skills must have been needed to open it. Your average rogue ninja wasn't a powerhouse or a master lock pick, a hunch was telling me someone among the Hidden Artisans had taken this artifact. I could be wrong though, only time would tell if I would be proven right.

"What is your name," I asked him. If this guy was going to be helping us we might as well know his name.

"I'm Omoda Hikame, one of the Masterpiece Makers," said Omoda.

"What in the world is the Masterpiece Makers? Some kind of band?" asked Kankuro, confused. I had also never heard of them, neither had Temari judging from her expression. Omoda showed absolute bewilderment at our lack of knowledge of the Masterpiece Makers.

"They are a legendary organization in the Hidden Artisan Village. It is extremely hard to gain membership, there have never been more than ten of them at any given time. Their numbers have even dropped as low as two at one point. They create all of the village's most legendary weapons," boasted Omoda. All of the village's most legendary weapons? This Omoda must be quite the prodigy for his age to be accepted into such an organization.

"Did they make the Dragon Blade," questioned Temari.

"Yes, it was made by one of the Masterpiece Makers nearly half a century ago. It was a blade of unrivaled power even among the Masterpiece Makers, truly a one-of-a-kind sword," said Omoda excitedly. Great, not only was it valuable it was considered special among the greatest weapons. No wonder the Hidden Artisan ninjas were angry, we were talking about one of their greatest treasures. No pressure at all, I just have to find and safely return the sacred treasure.

"Take us to the Hall of Masterpieces then," I said to Omoda. The scene of the crime always presented critical clues to who the perpetrator might be.

"I can't do that, unfortunately, only high-ranking jonin and Masterpiece Makers are allowed inside the Hall of Masterpieces. We cannot allow outsiders to know of all the powerful weapons we possess," said Omoda with a guarded tone. I sighed in frustration, our only clue to finding the thieves was out of reach. With Omoda's tone, I doubted even he would let us into the hall.

"Was the chest forcefully opened," I asked Omoda. He cocked his head in confusion.

"No, there wasn't the slightest bit of damage to the chest," he answered confidently. He must have seen the chest personally if he knew how it had been opened.

"Are there skilled locksmiths among in this village? Anyone who would have the skill to do this," I inquired. Kankuro and Temari both stood there with bored expressions, I guess they were gonna let me do all the talking.

"There are many skilled locksmiths but very few that have even close to this kind of skill," said Omoda.

"How do you know that they don't have enough skill to open the chest?"

"Easy, Master Isochi examined the chest and declared that not even he could open it without the key," said Omoda. So this Master had cleared all of the locksmiths in the village, even himself? That seemed a little suspicious to me, usually, there was someone who was always suspected in these situations. A village outcast or a shady person that had fallen out of favor, yet only we had been accused. It also was strange that the Dragon Blade had been stolen right before our arrival, quite the coincidence. If I didn't know any better I would say this was a setup now that I looked at the facts. The timing was ridiculously odd, it's not every day a team from another village visits, especially one from a Great Nation.

"Take us to this Master Isochi, I have a few questions for him," I said to Omoda. He thought about it for a moment and then nodded. Kankuro and Temari pulled themselves from their boredom to follow us. Omoda led us down a long street, past many amazing houses. I noticed that the houses only got bigger and more fancy as we went on. This Master Isochi must be very rich if he was living on this side of town. If he had stolen the Dragon Blade then it definitely wasn't for money, he had plenty of that. Since the chest wasn't opened forcefully there were two possibilities. One is that it had been lock picked by a skilled locksmith or thief. I doubted a foreign thief since security was probably tight. A locksmith who also was highly regarded and well known could have easily waltzed into there and taken it. Why he would do that eluded me though. The second option was that someone had used a key to open it. Unlikely but still on the table due to the chest not being forced open. There were probably only one or two keys to the chest, I needed to find out who had them.

"Who has the key to this chest," I asked. Omoda hesitated but then relaxed a little.

"Lord Soshiro and Lord Naki both have one, as does the Masterpiece Makers," said Omoda. Great, I now had roughly a dozen people who had access to a key if I included all of the Masterpiece Makers.

"This is Master Isochi's house," said Omoda as he gestured to our right. The house was actually more of a mansion, it sat on a huge estate with flowers and statues. This guy was definitely loaded with money, if he had stolen the Dragon Blade, what use would he have for it?

"It's huge, why does he need a house this big," said Kankuro with wonder. We started walking up the long path to the door, passing elaborate flower beds and incredible statues.

"Master Isochi is one of the most influential people in the village, second only to Lord Naki and Lord Soshiro," explained Omoda. I frowned, this was all falling into place very strangely. We soon arrived at the door to the mansion and Omoda knocked on the large double doors. A woman opened then and then guided us through the even more luxurious interior. All of the shiny marble and silver was beginning to hurt my eyes.

"Omoda what brings you here," asked a booming voice. We all looked up to find an extremely heavy-set man standing at the top of a grand staircase. Saying he was overweight was an understatement, this guy was massive. The one exception was his hands they were thin and nimble, perfect for a locksmith. I wondered how he kept them so muscular and thin while the rest of him was the complete opposite.

"Master Isochi, these are genin from the Hidden Sand envoy sent to renew the peace agreement with the Hidden Sand. They have been accused of stealing the Dragon Blade so they are trying to prove their innocence while their sensei renews the agreement," said Omoda efficiently. He certainly didn't waste any words talking to this guy. Omoda's posture and expression were different too, it was now respectful and straight. His eyes looked straight ahead and didn't wander even a little. Following his example, I quickly did a short bow to Master Isochi. Showing respect would hopefully give him a good enough view of us to let us question him. Kankuro and Temari bowed just as I did, following my lead.

"Raise your heads, you're making me feel old," chuckled Isochi. Something was off about this guy, I could feel it. His laugh was forced as well as his words. I could tell in his eyes and smile that he enjoyed us bowing while he stood far above us. Everything about him so far had been flashy and flashy which I didn't like. I was starting to think this Master Isochi had a superiority complex. The pieces were all there, high ranking position, over the top house, overweight from eating lavish foods, and finally the glint in his eyes. Coming here was a mistake. I already wanted to leave this place as fast as I could, it felt like I was in a trap.

"Why do I sense such unease from you? This fat human doesn't look the slightest bit threatening," grumbled Shukaku. I almost laughed at Shukaku's tension-breaking comment. I couldn't believe this is when he decided to open his mouth. He hadn't said a single thing to me the past few days, not even during my fight with Sumaru. Shukaku had sensed my unease so I guess maybe he just wanted to see what was going on.

"Something about him makes me feel like this is a trap like he has the upper hand," I told Shukaku. Omoda began leading us up the grand staircase to talk to Isochi.

"Wrap him in your sand and crush him into a bloody mess. Why do you hesitate if you think he is a threat," questioned Shukaku. I was pretty sure he just wanted me to crush him so he could get a good laugh at Isochi exploding. He did sort of have a point, why was I accepting this trap?

"Welcome to my humble abode," said Isochi with a grin. The fact he had the guts to say such a thing was just annoying. An entire village could have been fed for years with the money to build this house. It angered me to see it so flagrantly wasted.

"Master Isochi, I was hoping you could tell us about the chest that the Dragon Blade was stored in. We aren't allowed near it since it is located in the Hall of Masterpieces," I told him. He probably already knew this but I didn't want him telling us to go examine it ourselves knowing full well we couldn't.

"Hmm, where to start? Omoda probably already told you it wasn't broken open, it was either opened with a key or someone picked the lock," he said as he grabbed candy from a bowl. He jammed his face full of them which was absolutely disgusting. Even Omoda cringed a little bit at seeing the esteemed locksmith gobble down candy like a child.

"Do you know anyone who could pick such a lock," I said to him. Isochi had his mouth full so he shook his head while chocolate and drool went down his chin.

"I only know of three people who could open such a chest without the key. Two of them are in the Land of Stone and the other is me. I of course didn't open it, I was sound asleep when the Dragon Blade was taken," said Isochi while trying to sound innocent. I looked at Omoda and he nodded at the locksmith's assessment. So then it must have been someone with a key then.

"Why didn't you tell this to Lord Naki or Lord Soshiro? They arrested us and none of us have the talent to open the chest," I asked. It didn't make sense that they arrested us even though we didn't have a key. They had searched us before entering Lord Soshiro's office and found no such key.

"I did but it seems that Lord Naki's key went missing a few nights ago. They now believe someone stole it and used it to open the chest," said Isochi as he shoveled down more chocolate. Great, so we were still on the table for being guilty in their eyes.

"Who would have the most to gain from stealing the sword," questioned Temari. At least she was interested, Kankuro was fidgeting with a small mechanism for Crow. He was smart and perceptive when necessary but any other time he just relaxed.

"I guess you wouldn't know this but Lord Soshiro and Lord Naki are currently at odds with each other. Both are the leaders of two factions in the village. Lord Naki is more militaristic and holds far more pull among the ranks than Lord Soshiro. Lord Soshiro is a diplomat who was put in power by the villagers and the craftsman who aren't ninjas. Lord Soshiro would have a lot to gain by using the Dragon Blade to protect his position," said Isochi. His response was unnerving to me as well as my siblings. This guy had been playing the kind-hearted fool act but then throws out something like that? His eyes had that glint in them again, I didn't like it one bit. Still, the information that he had given made some sense. If Lord Soshiro was in charge of the shinobi then a powerful artifact like the Dragon Blade would give him the strength to stop a coup.

"What exactly does the Dragon Blade do then? You're saying it's powerful enough to stop Lord Naki and all his followers," asked Kankuro skeptically. He was right in a sense, a single weapon that could hold back almost an entire village of ninjas did sound far-fetched.

"The Dragon Blade has total control over fire and lightning style, tripling the power of your average user. Very few ninjas have been able to stand against it but it comes at a cost to the user. Use it for too long and you'll die from all your chakra being sucked out," said Isochi. Even the Dragon Blade held true to the rule that everything had a weakness. Though, a slugging fest with the user until they ran out of chakra sounded like a bad idea considering how powerful the weapon was.

"Why would Lord Soshiro give us so much freedom to investigate if he took the blade? You said it yourself, he has the most to gain by stealing it," asked Temari. She was correct, it seemed like an unnecessary risk to take to allow us to investigate. In his position, I would have never given us the chance to look into it, even if the success of such an investigation was almost impossible. Another thing seemed off to me, why was Master Isochi so willing to spout all this information? He was openly suggesting the leader of the village had stolen the weapon. Things weren't adding up in my head m, and too many pieces weren't fitting into the puzzle.

"He may be playing you for fools by appearing on your side. He is a diplomat after all," said Isochi with a grin. This guy knew something and he wasn't telling us. The look in his eyes gave it away, he was an awful liar. He definitely was enjoying saying all of this and liked our reactions.

"Shukaku, I want to scare this guy a little bit. Can you lend me a little help without taking me over," I asked sternly. This could seriously backfire but it would so be worth it.

"Lend you my power for such trivial scaring? I'll do it only because I don't like this fat human," grumbled Shukaku. I grinned as I felt some of the transformation going on but I was controlling it. My eyes began to enhance, a sign that my eyes were now Shukaku's. Tanuki-like ears began forming on my head and my face was partially coated in sand with cursed marks.

"WHAT IS THAT," screamed Master Isochi as he scrambled away from me. Temari and Kankuro also looked worried for a moment but stopped when they saw me wink in their direction. Omoda was in complete shock as well, terrified of my new appearance. Using Shukaku's powers I formed my arm into his and grabbed Isochi. He let out a piercing scream and struggled to escape.

"I'm getting sick and tired of your grin and the innocent act you've been playing. You're a terrible liar and none of what your saying adds up," I said in a mix between my voice and Shukaku's. I could feel the tanuki was enjoying this immensely. Shukaku definitely liked seeing Isochi reduced to a petrified child.

"I don't know what you me-"

"Shut your mouth if you are going to say stuff like that," I growled and lightly tightened my grip. With a squeak, he quickly stopped talking. This was much better than what we had been previously doing. I was finally going to get some good answers out of this imbecile.

"Who opened the chest and stole the Dragon Blade," I said with a growl.

"I don't k-"

"Yes you do," I said as I squeezed him more. He gasped as air was forced out of his lungs from the pressure.

"Stop, your hurting him," said Omoda with fear. I guess he had finally shaken off his initial shock. There was a poof and black gauntlets appeared on his hands. Where had those come from? Omoda charged toward me and I prepared to stop him with my iron sand. I didn't need to though because Temari and Kankuro quickly stepped between Omoda and I.

"You wanna get to Gaara your going to have to go through us first," said Kankuro menacingly. I smiled as I felt a flicker of appreciation go through me. Omoda glowered at us and charged toward Kankuro. He was thrown back with a swing of Temari's iron fan and crashed into a marble table. Turning my attention back to Isochi, I found that he had started to cry. What a total weakling I thought to myself. Shukaku seemed to agree with me, he also held distaste for the man.

"Quit whining and tell me everything you know," I said with as much hostility as I could muster. I needed to do this quickly, I was sure that this buffoon had bodyguards around here somewhere. I needed to keep this quiet if we were going to get out of here alive.

"Lord Naki gave his key to his son and lied about it being stolen. He paid me to testify that the Hidden Sand would have the abilities to steal the weapon," said Isochi as he openly cried. This made a lot more sense than the lies he had been preaching to us before. Even I had been able to tell that Naki didn't like Soshiro being in charge or his way of doing things. The militaristic man wanted to be in charge so he stole a powerful artifact to take the position.

"Why did they drag us into this then," I said as I loosened my grip a little. I didn't want him to have any permanent damage from this or it would cause more trouble.

"Lord Naki said Soshiro had men watching him and that he needed a scapegoat. Too many people were suspicious of him because he losing his key," choked out Isochi while he sobbed. God, put this guy in a slight squeeze and he'd spill his guts for anyone.

"Is all that really true," said Omoda from behind me. Glancing back, Omoda had stopped fighting Temari and Kankuro. He stood there with disbelief on his face. Omoda didn't want to believe that Isochi or Naki was involved in such a plot. Omoda reported to Naki and probably had many interactions with Isochi. I felt bad for him, two respected people in his life were trying to overthrow the current leader of his village. That must be hard for anyone to digest.

"You hear it yourself Omoda, there is a plot to replace Lord Soshiro," I said bluntly. Omoda visibly winced at my statement.

"I'm sorry I attacked you," he said numbly. His gauntlets vanished from his hands with a poof. I would need to ask him about that later, how was he doing this without a summoning scroll?

"Well, that was fun. Thank you for being kind enough to give us some of your time," I said with a grin. I then dropped Isochi, he let out a scream before his legs crunched into the ground. He started bawling from the pain but I didn't care, he deserved it for what he was involved with.

"Who wants to go stop a coup," I asked with a smile. This was going to be quite fun.