Chapter 69 - A Promise Made

Daichi looked at the 2 quests in shock. 'No way. Two quests for one incident appearing at the same time?' Daichi went through the details of the first quest 'Rescue Reo Uchiha' and then the second 'Follow root agents quest'.

'The rewards are only 12000 exp. points and reputation increase for the first quest. But the second one. If I successfully complete it then I'll get 15000 exp and the Uchiha bloodline and thus the Sharingan. The logical choice would be to choose the second quest as it yields a greater reward… And I can only choose one.'

At that moment the image of baby Reo smiling appeared in his mind. 'What the hell am I even thinking? I can't believe I'm even debating myself over this.'

Daichi made up his mind that instant and chose the first quest. 'Her life is more important and if I get the sharingan it'll only bring a headache for me at this time.'

Daichi immediately rushed to the bathroom of the academy. Since the classes had ended a while ago there were only a few people on the premises. After reaching the bathroom Daichi made sure he was alone in there.

'I can't be too sure about the classes but I'm pretty sure no one's spying on this place right now.'

He looked in the mirror and tried to come up with a strategy. 'I need a plan. Danzo's root Anbu is watching the clan and Itachi and Obito are at the compound. I can't rush in without a plan.'

'After the massacre there will definitely be an investigation. Only the Hokage, Danzo and the council elders will know the truth about the massacre but they won't be able to share it even with the Anbu members. And if this matter isn't thoroughly investigated it will create problems with other clans. The Anbu will definitely investigate everyone's movements within the village today… I need an alibi. And… I need to know what I'll do with Reo once I save her… I can't bring her home. It'll bring attention to me and her. And if Danzo or Obito or anyone else figure out she's an Uchiha, all my efforts would be in vain. And I will definitely become a target.'

Daichi thought about saving Ren and Kimiko but he shut that idea down. 'They will count the bodies to see if anyone's missing. And if they find a whole family missing then they will hunt them down and declare them traitors or secretly dispose of them. Either way, it's not a pleasant ending.'

Suddenly Daichi thought of something. He looked at the accepted quest. More specifically at the rewards.

[Reputation increases with Aiko Hikara.]

'Reo will be safe there. But I'll need to convince Aiko to take her in.'

Daichi came up with a viable plan after thinking for several minutes. 'Lets just hope everything goes well.'

He created a shadow clone and quickly took out Atamagai's invisibility cloak from his inventory.

Daichi looked at his clone and spoke. "You know what to do."

The clone nodded. "Yeah. Get home as usual. Same routes. Keep minimal interactions and no suspicious movements. And make sure to not get dispelled until you get home."

Daichi nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Go."

Once the clone left Daichi quickly wore the cloak.

[Special Item equipped.]

[Atamagai's cloak activated. ]

A holographic bar appeared above the Mini-Map showing how much time was left for the cloak to stay active. Right next to it was a button for ON/OFF.

Daichi looked at his MP bar and saw 300 points were used to activate the cloak. The moment the cloak activated he became invisible. Daichi looked at the mirror and saw nothing. He didn't see his reflection in the mirror.

'If I use this continuously then I'll have an invisibility of 3 hours but if I deactivate and use this sparingly then I can extend it up to 10 hours. After that the cloak gets deactivated no matter what for 29 days. It's a good thing that this reactivated so soon or I might have been in some serious trouble.'

Daichi used the cloak in the second dungeon but due to spending several days in there and these last few weeks outside the cloak was completely recharged a few days ago. Daichi wasted no more time and left the academy.

The boy rushed to the Uchiha clan compound. Due to the cloak blocking the smell, chakra, sound and visibility, Daichi didn't hold himself back. He put chakra in his limbs and sped towards his destination.

'I only have 1.5 Hrs to finish this.'

On his way the boy thought about how he would convince Ren to let him have her daughter. 'I need to convince him no matter what. If the need arises I'll have to use Mana Puppetry on him.'

After a dozen minutes Daichi reached the compound. He ran through the compound and already started to see some dead bodies.

'I need to hurry.'

He quickly reached Ren's home and went inside. They were at the other side of the house and didn't hear the front door opening. Daichi saw Ren and Kimiko looking anxious and packing a few scrolls.

'Here goes…'

Daichi dropped the invisibility and the moment he did Ren turned around in surprise. Kimiko was also shocked.

"Daichi!! What? How?" Ren asked bewildered. He checked Daichi's chakra signature and made sure it was the boy he knew.

Daichi looked at the packed bags and scrolls. His eyes widened as he realized the situation.

"You guys are planning to leave aren't you?" Daichi asked, wanting to confirm his suspicion.

"Daichi, I don't know how you got here but you need to leave right now." Ren said with a serious face. His Sharingan quickly came to life.

"I can't do that." Daichi shook his head.

"Kid you don't understand the situation. You need to -"

"Itachi is killing the clan as we speak." Daichi's words stunned the two Uchihas.

Kimiko was shocked when she heard Daichi. "What did you say?"

"I saw several dead bodies on my way here. And it was Itachi."

"No that can't be true. He would never…"

"Kimiko…" Ren quietly spoke. The moment he heard Daichi's words he activated his chakra and changed it to sensory mode. His range was wide and he felt the chakra fluctuations and disappearance throughout the compound.

Ren was a smart man. He immediately understood the implications. 'Itachi… it's no coincidence that he would attack the clan the day before the coup. He… he sided with the village. They know… And it looks like there's someone else in the compound killing the members. It won't be long before they reach here.'

Horror dawned on his face as he looked at his wife and daughter in her arms. He turned towards Daichi. His mind running through different scenarios. He needed to save his daughter at all cost.

"Daichi the clan…" He started speaking but Daichi held up his hand.

"They were going to attack the village weren't they?" Daichi spoke looking at them.

"How do you know that? Are you a spy sent by the village?" Kimiko immediately became defensive. But Ren was looking at Daichi with an impressive face.

"I'm not a spy or anything like that. I've seen the tension between your clan and the village. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what would happen next." Daichi replied to her question.

Ren took a step forward and asked the boy. He was keeping a close eye on Daichi's chakra and the two chakras killing everyone in the compound.

"Why are you here Daichi?"

Daichi looked at the stony face of the man. After a few seconds of silence he answered. "I came to save Reo."

The eyes of the couple widened hearing those words.

Daichi continued. "I can't save you two. But I can save her. I'll get her out of here safely and I'll make sure she's safe. But… I'm sorry. You two won't make it out of this alive…"

"Why? Why do you want to save her? You could get killed if they capture you?" Ren asked the boy.

"I want to save her because she's innocent and she doesn't deserve to die because of the cruel plans of others… And… I have no intention of getting caught." Daichi spoke in a resolute tone. "But I need to get going in the next minute… So you need to make a decision now."

Ren looked at Kimiko. Tears ran down her face as she held her baby tightly in her arms. She looked at her husband and they came to a decision. They knew their plan to escape was now a failure. They would get captured and killed if they left now. Ren took his daughter into his arms and walked towards Daichi.

"Daichi, promise me something. Promise me you'll watch over her and make sure she's safe. Swear to me you'll guard her like she's your own sister."

It was only Daichi's gamer's mind that kept him from choking up in sadness. "You have my word. I won't let anyone get to her. I promise."

Ren scrutinized Daichi's chakra and he looked into the boy's eyes. He saw the resolve and the determination to move mountains in them. He felt relieved in that moment.

"Thank you Daichi. I'm glad I met you." Ren handed his daughter over to the boy as tears ran down his face. Kimiko at the time took three scrolls and came to Daichi.

"These belong to her. When the time comes, tell her everything and give these to her." Kimiko said smiling even as she shed tears.

"What are they?" Daichi asked.

"One contains photos of us. All the memories we made from our childhood till now." Kimiko said with a sad smile

"The second is a collection of all the jutsu and techniques I learned throughout the years. And the third is the entirety of our assets. All liquidated and in cash. You can use that for her needs. It'll last till she's genin." Ren said.

Daichi nodded and took the scrolls. He quickly placed them in his inventory. The two watched in surprise as the scrolls disappeared into thin air.

"Another one of your secrets huh." Ren slightly smiled. During the course of their friendship Ren figured that Daichi was more than meets the eye but he just didn't know the extent of it.

"I sense several ninjas at the outskirts of the compound. Probably to keep an eye on things here. How are you planning on leaving the compound without anyone noticing?" Ren asked the boy as he sensed the movements of the killers and everyone else.

"The same way I got here. Don't worry. We'll be fine. I have a plan." Daichi slightly smiled at them.

The couple looked at their daughter sleeping in Daichi's arms. Ren gently stoked baby Reo's cheeks while Kimiko hugged her husband and looked at her sleeping child. Both of them had their Sharingan locked on their child.

"Be good Reo. Grow strong and beautiful like your mother." Ren spoke with tears in his eyes. His chakra concentrated in his eyes and began fluctuating.

"Make sure to have lots of good friends. Eat healthy… We love you so much…" Kimiko was choking up as she said the last words.

The chakra fluctuations within Ren's eye became stronger and stronger. He didn't care about the pain his eyes were experiencing. He kept looking at his daughter for what would be the last few moments of his life.

Daichi sensed the chakra fluctuations and looked up. What he saw astounded him. The three tomoe sharingan in Ren's eyes spinning wildly and forming a new pattern.

Daichi was having a mind freakout. 'No freaking way… Mangekyō Sharingan…!!!'

The Mangekyō Sharingan formed and stayed like that for several seconds. Suddenly Ren looked up and turned his head. The Mangekyō Sharingan vanished from his eyes.

"Daichi you need to hide now. The enemy is coming." Ren whispered quickly.

Daichi realizing that the killer was coming activated the cloak and hid himself in a corner of the room away from Ren and Kimiko. He was holding Reo in his arms so she was under the invisibility protection as well.

To the Uchiha couple it was as if Daichi and their daughter had vanished. And they let out a breath. They were now sure that Daichi would be able to keep Reo safe. They held each other's hands and waited for their assailant.

The next instant a sword pierced through Kimiko's heart and she died before she could even utter a word. The attack happened fast and in a second. Ren turned to look and saw a masked man taking his sword out of his wife's body. He took a kunai and lunged at the man. He was surprised when he passed through the person as if he was a ghost. The next second he felt a slash across his throat and another severing his spine.

Ren fell down and choked on his own blood. In a few seconds he passed away as well.