Chapter 181 - Meeting the Fire Daimyo

Daichi was in awe as he looked at what was in front of his eyes. 'Amazing. Everything is perfectly stored and preserved…'

"Look at all this stuff. You can buy a small army with it." Akai said as he inspected the items.

There were paintings, precious stones, statues, and scrolls with the markings of Daimyos.

"I can't believe our C Rank mission turned into one of the biggest treasure hunts in the world." Kakashi said as he looked around. He then turned to this student. "Well done Daichi. This wouldn't have happened without you."

"I think you mean us sensei. I wouldn't have known the identity of the thief if it wasn't for you."

Kakashi shrugged and turned his head to the items all around. 'Hmm… There is something I still don't get. How did he steal all this without getting caught? The places he robbed must have had at least a few sensory ninjas. How did he escape their senses? Is his infiltration and escape skills that good… Or is there something else?... With the man dead, I suppose we'll never know.'

As Kakashi was mulling over his theories Daichi looked at the notifications piled up.

[Quest 'The Great Treasure' Completed.]

[Rewards:]

[Large unknown amount of money.]

[+2 Dignity.]

[Reputation increases with the Daimyo and people of the Fire country.]

[Reputation increases with the Hokage and people of the Leaf village.]

[Reputation increases with some people around the world.]

[Reputation slightly decreases with some people around the world.]

'Dignity and large unknown amounts of money huh. So Dignity stat can be increased with quests like this. That's good to know. Now time to check out how much money I got as a reward.'

Daichi was ecstatic about the reward. He opened his status page and looked at the Ryo count. It wasn't any different from yesterday.

'What the? I didn't get any money? Then….?'

Daichi thought about it and figured that if the quest didn't reward him then it's possible that the monetary reward was from the Hokage.

Daichi looked at the next quest that appeared.

[5th Quest]

[Quest Created - Kiyoto Inagi's secret.]

[Kiyoto Inagi only had ordinary skills in the shinobi arts. Yet he was able to infiltrate the most secure compounds in the world. Investigate this underground cavern and find out his secret.]

.

[Rewards:]

[+2 Level in Stealth Skill.]

.

[Failure:]

[Incomplete Chain Quest.]

[-5000 Exp.]

Daichi read the quest and his eyes slightly narrowed. 'A man with only average ninja skills infiltrated places like Daimyo's mansions and heavily guarded museums.? How did…'

At that moment a thought entered his mind. 'No. It can't be. There's no way he could have found Atamagai's cloak could he? No… It couldn't be his fifth and final cloak. That possibility is low… So it must be one of the other cloaks… But when I first got the quest, it said the first three cloaks were destroyed. I have the 4th and the Abyss cloak is the 5th… So what's going on? Did he really find the Abyss cloak? Is it here?'

The quest mentioned investigating the cavern and Daichi was intending to do so. 'If the 5th cloak really is hidden here then I have to find it.'

"Sensei, I'm gonna take a look around. Why don't you start packing everything?"

"Looking for something Daichi?" Kakashi asked in a curious tone.

"This is the place The Phantom Thief hid his great treasure. There's no way I'm leaving without inspecting every inch. Who knows… We might find something else."

Daichi was calm as he said those words but he was cautious. 'If the 5th cloak really is here then I must have it. There's no way I'm handing it to anyone else… I have to do my part and complete this quest. Especially since my clone did his job so well.'

Flashback.

Shortly after Kakashi left with Akai Hyuga to investigate Kiyoto's home, Daichi opened the scroll containing the investigation reports on the robbery that happened a year ago.

'Kenichi is a wealthy man. He had hired several guards to protect his home and yet the thief broke in. The investigating shinobi have made a detailed account of the guard's patrol time and positions. And this report even has a layout of the building. Not that I need it that much since I've been inside… Still this is good. The guards shift may have changed but it hardly matters.'

Daichi thought about a plan that would put everything in his favor. 'Kenichi doubles his guards at night. So I'll need him to leave his house in the morning… Hmm… If he did know the location of the treasure then I doubt he'd go there at night. I need to convince Kakashi to make a plan that would have Kenichi leave the house in daylight. Only a couple maids will be at his home during that time and it'll make my job easier.'

Daichi thought about how to proceed and came up with a plan. He opened his inventory and looked at the items he recently created. 'Perfect. They look exactly like the puppets in Kenichi's home. Not a hair out of place. Even he won't be able to tell the difference just by looking. And based on how they were, he hadn't even touched them in ages. He won't be able to tell the difference. It's a waste to just lock those puppets away inside that shelf.'

Daichi memorized all the information necessary to infiltrate Kenichi's home and steal the items. When his sensei returned, Daichi laid out his plan and got the man to agree. And once it had the Hokage's green light, Daichi prepared himself.

—-

"He's on the move. He didn't take any guards with him." Akai said as he looked at Kenichi leaving the capital.

"Well then, let's see where he leads us." Kakashi gave the order and the three ninjas swiftly moved. They made their presence to a minimum and maintained a certain distance.

At this time Daichi's shadow clone under the protection of the invisibility cloak infiltrated Kenichi's home. The clone easily moved past the guards and soon reached the room where his prize was located. But there was a maid cleaning the room.

Daichi used 'Observe' and the information showed that she was an ordinary woman. He used Mana puppetry on her and made her leave the room.

'Master Kenichi is gone. Why don't I take a break?'

The maid left and Daichi made his way to the shelf with the chakra puppets. He opened the shelf without making any noise and carefully lifted the items and placed them in his inventory. Once that was done he replaced them with identical wooden sculptures. With his mission completed the clone slowly made his way outside. He carefully moved through the streets and reached his room.

The clone took off the cloak and placed it in the inventory and the next second vanished.

Flashback End.

Half an hour went by and Kakashi and Akai were sealing the items in a scroll while Daichi looked around. As he observed every inch of the place he came across something peculiar. At the far end in a corner a rock stood out with burn marks. Daichi would have ignored it if there was no quest but since he was searching for clues he decided to inspect it.

There was something else on the burned rock. Daichi knelt and carefully inspected the area. 'Something was burned here. But what?...'

He looked closer and he could see something. 'Observe'

[Atamagai's Cloak][Destroyed]

[A charred piece of fabric from the 3rd cloak Atamagai Uzumaki created. Last used by Kiyoto Inagi.]

The observe skill didn't show anymore information on the piece of item.

'The third cloak. Now it makes sense. He did have it but after he was done with his thievery he destroyed the cloak.. But why the hell would he do that? This is a great stealth item. Why would he destroy it?'

[Quest Kiyoto Inagi's secret Completed]

[Rewards:]

[+2 Level in Stealth Skill.]

[First Chain Quest Completed]

[2500 Exp.]

[375 Exp.]

Daichi didn't know the answer but he didn't care. 'As long as it wasn't the 5th cloak and the quest was completed it doesn't really matter now. Completed huh… It seems this chain Quest is officially done. Still, this is a bit underwhelming. I thought this guy had some awesome skills or stealth jutsu. Turns out he only just had a cheat cloak.'

"Find something Daichi?" Kakashi came near and asked his student.

Daichi held the small burned fabric and spoke. "This was the only thing here… it's almost fully burned."

Kakashi took the item and carefully examined it. "Seems like a fabric of some sort. Must have been part of his disguise… It's no use to us now…"

"Yeah that's what I thought too …" Daichi replied.

"I've finished storing everything. What do you say we leave Kakashi?" The Hyuga spoke up at that moment.

Daichi and Kakashi looked around one last time and nodded their heads. They started making their way back to the Fire Capital.

—-

Daichi and sensei gave a detailed report of their findings to the Hokage.

Currently they were in a meeting with the Hokage and the man Hirohito Inagi was also present. The man went through a light interrogation to make sure he wasn't aware or a participant in his father's crimes.

Hiruzen had a stern gaze as he looked at the man. "I've spoken with the Fire Daimyo. Due to the sensitive nature of everything he has agreed to keep your name out of it. Since you didn't know what your father was up to, it was decided that you wouldn't be punished for his crimes."

"Thank you for the mercy, Lord Hokage." Hirohito bowed respectfully as he heard his verdict.

"This was only possible because we were able to retrieve everything that was stolen. If that weren't the case then things would have gone much differently for you. So instead of thanking me, you should be thanking those two behind you." Hiruzen said.

Hirohito nodded and turned towards Daichi and Kakashi. "Thank you sincerely." He then looked at Kakashi. "Thank you for keeping your word."

The silver haired Jonin just nodded with a small smile.

The man was dismissed and soon it was just the three of them in the room. Hiruzen looked at his two ninjas.

"The Daimyo wants to meet you two. I couldn't exactly say no." The old kage said.

Kakashi nodded. "I understand sir."

Hiruzen then turned to Daichi. "I know I don't have to say this to you but please be on your best behavior. You're about to meet the most powerful man in Fire country."

Daichi nodded his head. "Yes sir." He knew the matter was no joke. If he made any remarks that displeased the Fire lord it could have great consequences.

"Good. Let's move."

The group made their way to the Fire Daimyo's palace.

[You have witnessed a work created by several master craftsmen. ]

[+1 WISDOM]

"This Palace is incredible."

The Hokage chuckled looking at Daichi's reaction. It was something he expected. "Yes. Indeed it is. This is the Fire lord's home after all…"

There were guards everywhere. Visible and hidden. Daichi could sense all of them with his Mana. He knew using 'Chakra sense' was a bad idea. 'If… No. There definitely would be a sensory type ninja hidden. If I use 'chakra sense' and he detects me, that might cause some trouble. Better not risk it.'

A high ranking court official met them and led them inside. Soon they reached a room with two giant doors in gold and red design.

"This is Lord Ryuga's personal chamber. Come."

The doors opened and they went in. 'This room is much bigger than I thought.'

On the other side of the room on a luxurious couch sat the current Fire Lord, Ryuga Hinoō. Two guards in Imperial Armor stood behind him. There were a couple of advisors with him as well taking part in the meeting.

Daichi used 'observe' but couldn't see their level. When he used Mana scout he sensed several other ninjas hidden throughout the room. 'Must be some of the twelve guardian ninjas.'

The Daimyo smiled as he looked at the Hokage. "Aah… Hiruzen. You've come right on time. As always."

"I did not wish to make you wait. And it helps that I do like to be punctual." Hiruzen replied with a polite smile.

Daimyo laughed merrily after hearing that. "Come. Sit, sit."

While Hiruzen sat on the opposite couch Daichi and Kakashi stood near him.

And like that, the meeting with some of the most powerful people in Fire country began.