Chapter 166 - Quest: Acquire the Spring water.

Hiruzen handed Kakashi the scroll and spoke. He told them the details of the mission. "This scroll contains authorized documents pertaining goods trade between our villages. I want you to deliver the scroll to the head of the Tonika village head and await his response."

After listening to what the Hokage said, Daichi went through the quest details that popped up.

[Quest created - Delivery Mission to Tonika Village.]

[The Hokage has tasked your team with delivering an important scroll to another village. Successfully deliver the scroll and return with the response of the other party to complete this C Rank mission.]

[Conditions:]

Protect the scroll during the journey.

[Rewards:]

7000 Exp.

Reputation slightly increases with people of Tonika Village.

[Failure:]

Reputation decreases with the Hokage, Kakashi Hatake and people of Tonika village.

No C Rank missions for a while.

[Accept Y/N]

Accepting the quest, Daichi turned to his teacher. Kakashi took the scroll and left the tower.

"The Tonika village lies on the outskirts of Fire country. So this will take a couple days to complete. Pack accordingly. Meet me at the gate in an hour." Kakashi gave instructions to his student.

Daichi nodded and left for his home. He already had everything needed in his inventory but he needed to inform his grandfather of his journey.

—-

Daichi was waiting near the gates of the village. A short while later Kakashi showed up.

"So ready for a trip outside the Fire country?" Kakashi asked in a jovial tone.

"Well, I've been to other countries. But yes, I'm somewhat excited to travel to a new village." His student replied with a smile. Both of them marked their departure with the guards and started their journey.

Since they didn't have a civilian with them they were moving through the trees at a fast but controlled pace.

Daichi thought about what he knew about the Tonika village. 'Its a small village out in the middle of a barren wasteland. That's the village that was attacked by Kabuto. The place with the tower 'Spear of Heaven'. It was a filler arc but since fillers exist, that place also exists. It's also the place with spring water that has overflowing life energy and accelerated cell division. I need to get a sample of that water and Analyze it. There are also rumors about hidden treasures in that village.'

"What's on your mind?" Kakashi asked his student.

"I've read up on the other villages and Tonika village came up during my study. There are some mentions about treasures and powerful weapons hidden in the village. Do you think that's true?"

"Hmm… I've heard rumors about such but I don't know for sure." Kakashi replied.

Both of them jumped through the trees and made their way to the borders of the fire country. They saw patrolling ninjas pass by a couple times and their journey was uneventful.

The young Genin was amazed as he hadn't encountered any unexpected surprises yet. 'Naruto and Sasuke. Maybe those two are just bad luck. Or maybe its the curse. Technically my team is called team Kakashi. So maybe I'm free from the curse of Team 7?... Hmm… That must be it.'

The ninja duo made their way through the trees and after several hours they started to see a change in the terrain. Vegetation and trees became less and less as they moved forward and soon they were moving through a barren land in the scorching sun.

[Mini-Map updated]

Daichi looked at the notification and new information appeared in his head.

"We're on the outskirts of the country. We need to move along east of here and we'll reach the village in a couple hours." Kakashi said and pointed and they both took off in the direction.

As they made their journey they soon came across a large pipe going in another direction. The Gamer ninja recognized the pipe.

'This pipe! This must be the pipe that supplies spring water from the Tonika village to the Hacho Village.'

"We're close." Kakashi said and they both continued on. Before long they reached their destination.

"Wow!" Daichi was amazed at the site. 'Seeing this village through a television screen does no justice.'

The Tonika village was situated in a large hole. It was an ecological oasis in the middle of a barren wasteland. The village was situated in the middle of the hole with a large forest and lake surrounding it.

"It's beautiful." The boy spoke.

Kakashi agreed with that sentiment. The village bustling with wildlife and vegetation was a stark contrast to the lifeless wasteland around it.

At that moment a few people were coming towards them. A group of 4 people came near Kakashi and Daichi and looked at the two. They noticed the Leaf headband and slightly relaxed their posture.

"My name is Santo. This is my team. We're the guards of this village. What brings you leaf ninja here?" The man introduced himself.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake. This is my student Daichi Hekima. We're on a mission to deliver a scroll to the village head." Kakashi took out the scroll and showed the official seal of the Hokage.

The guards straightened and nodded. They left to patrol the village while their leader Santo escorted the 2 man Genin team to his village. "Come. I'll take you to meet the elder."

The three shinobi made their way to a wooden stairs that led down to the village.

"So ahh…. Can I ask you something?" The Genin looked at the Tonika ninja.

Santo had a smile as he addressed Daichi. "Of course."

"So is it true? The rumors?"

"Haha! I assume you must be referring to the ones about treasures."

"Yeah."

"Well, the legend has it that long ago, long before even this village was created, a powerful ninja hid something here in this area. That information spread and over time became the legend of the treasure. Truth be told, when I was a child, me and my friends searched this village up and down for the so-called treasure. Couldn't find anything…"

"I heard that bandits used to attack this place." Kakashi spoke.

"Yes. The thieves come in search of the treasure but we've repelled them. We've placed traps around the place to stop intruders." Santo didn't elaborate on it any further.

The trio soon reached the bottom of the steps. As soon as Daichi touched the ground a new quest appeared in his view.

[Quest created - Obtain the Spring Water.]

[The spring water is abundant with life energy and vitality. Obtain the spring water and increase your Stats.]

[Conditions:]

Obtain 1 liter of spring water for consumption.

[Rewards:]

Stat increase.

[Failure:]

None

[Accept Y/N]

'Wow. Amazing. A stat increase by obtaining the water. There's no way I'm gonna reject this.'

Without wasting a second Daichi accepted the quest. They made their way to the village. As they walked, Daichi recognized certain areas of the village. Especially the place where several pillars stood tall. There were patrol ninjas roaming around the place.

They soon made their way to a large house. A tall old man with large white hair and beard appeared before them. Behind the elder stood another tall man. He was the guard tasked with protecting the head. Santo bowed to the elderly man.

"Elder. They are from the Leaf village." Santo said.

"Thank you Santo. I got it."

The elder then looked at Kakashi and Daichi and smiled. "Welcome to our village. Please come inside." The leader of the village led the two ninjas to his office.

Kakashi gave the scroll to the village head. "The details of the trade agreement between our villages are inside. Our Hokage would like your response."

The elder opened the scroll and went through the information. Once he was done he looked at the two ninja. "Please wait for a day. I must discuss it with a few others before I make a final decision."

"I understand." Kakashi nodded. He had been on plenty of missions like this. So he knew he would have to wait for a while.

"In the meantime you two are more than welcome here. Jeno here will guide you."

"Thank you." Kakashi and Daichi nodded and they left the office.

"This place is completely different from the outside. So full of life." Kakashi said as he looked around.

"Yes. It's because of the spring water here." Jeno didn't elaborate further. He had a somewhat stern visage.

They walked through the streets of the village enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the village. At that moment a little kid playing near them tripped and fell down on some sharp stones and wounded his arm. He cradled his arm and started crying.

Daichi immediately rushed to the boy.

"What are you trying to do?" Jeno quickly rushed after Daichi and asked the boy. He was wary of foreign ninjas and that included ninjas of the leaf village.

"I'm a medic ninja. I'm just going to take a look at his injury and heal him." Daichi replied without even looking at the man.

Jeno was suspicious that a boy so young would be a medic ninja but he didn't stop Daichi.

"Don't worry. He knows what he's doing." Kakashi said to the man.

Daichi reached the crying child and calmed him down. He then looked at the arm and noted the injuries.

'Nothing's broken. But he has a deep cut.'

"Hey. What's your name?"

"Noburo."

"Hello Noburo. My name is Daichi. Don't worry. Everything's gonna be okay. I want you to hold still, close your eyes and count to 60. Can you do that?" Daichi asked the child with a gentle smile.

The small child nodded and closed his eyes. He started counting in a small voice and the medic ninja beside him quickly got to work.

Daichi immediately brought up his hands and they started glowing green. He quickly removed any foreign objects from the child's wounded area and began to heal the injury.

The Tonika village ninja watched in fascination as the wounds on the boy's hand quickly closed up. In less than a minute Daichi completely healed the arm and when the boy opened his eyes at 60, he was shocked.

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Of course. I healed you. But you need to take it easy for the day. And don't play around near sharp rocks."

The child stood and bowed. "Thank you brother Daichi."

"You're welcome." The child left with a wide smile on his face.

Jeno looked at Daichi and his expression softened. "Thank you. For what you did to him."

Daichi nodded. "I'm a medic. It's what I do."

"Would you like to look around the village?"

They toured the village and Jeno's attitude slowly became friendly towards them. After some time Daichi asked a question that's been on his mind.

'I could just sneak into Spring Lake but I'd rather not cause any problems. And now the chances of them rejecting my request is near zero. Even if they do, I still have ways to get the water.'

"Hey. I have a request. If you'll indulge me?" Daichi spoke.

"What is it?"

"Can I take some of the Spring Lake water with me? During my time learning about various herbs, I read about the Spring water here and it's abundant life energy. And based on the fact that there is a forest in the middle of a wasteland I'm guessing that's true."

Jeno nodded. "Yes. It's true. The Spring water here nourishes and creates the wildlife you see before you. And it has some healing properties as well. And as for your request… Yes. You may take some water. I'll show you where to get it."

"Thank you."

"Why do you need the spring water Daichi?" Kakashi asked.

"Mostly for research. I want to study it's effects and see if it's possible in creating medicine." The boy replied.

They soon reached the lake that surrounded the village. It was a crystal clear Lake that almost sparkled. The trees around the place were even taller than most trees in the lead village. Daichi sensed various animals roaming throughout the area.

"This is the place." Jeno said.

Daichi took a gourd out of his scroll and dipped it inside the clear Lake. Once it was filled he brought it to his nose.

'Hmm… No smell… It's pure. There are no contaminating elements.'

He then quickly began drinking the water. In a few seconds Daichi finished the whole thing.

[+4000 HP]

[+3400 CP]

[+3700 SP]

[Note: Drinking 1 liter of Spring Lake water gives an increase in HP, CP, SP but it is a temporary effect. Drinking the water again within 12 hours of consumption will not increase the HP, CP, SP points.]

[+15 Vitality]

[+13 Stamina]

[+10 Chakra]

[Note: Stat increase is a one time permanent effect.]

'Amazing. The stats increased by 38 points and this restores points in health, chakra and stamina. But it's temporary and got a 12 hour cool down time. Still… It's far better than nothing. I need to find a way to store gallons of this stuff. But I doubt they would agree to something like that. And I don't want anyone to know about my interest in this stuff.'

At that moment the quest completion notification appeared.

[Quest 'Obtain the Spring Water' Completed.]

[Rewards:]

Stat increase.

"Refreshing isn't it." Jeno spoke to Daichi at that second.

"Yes. It's quite something." Daichi dipped the gourd into the lake and refilled it. Once it was full he sealed the bottle and they left the place.

Daichi was very happy with the results. He was already making plans to abscond with a large quantity of the pure water.

'Looks like I need to come here without anyone noticing after all.'