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Chapter 180 - Treasure - Part 04 (Final)
🕑 Added 2022-12-23 22:07:49 +0000 UTCKakashi and Daichi quickly moved through the trees and made their way back to the village.
"Do you think he was suspicious?" Kakashi asked his student.
Daichi shook his head. "No. He believed us when we said the robbery was done by a random thief. I'm sure of it."
"I think the same. Now we know for certain. He has absolutely no idea that it was the Phantom who stole the item. And that's the key."
Daichi agreed with his sensei. Due to their speed both of them reach the village in just a few hours.
"Since he was gracious enough to give us two coupons we should use it." The Jonin said and both of them soon reached Kenichi’s tea house. They showed the coupon to the staff and were escorted to a private room and served their best products.
"Oh wow. This really is delicious. I can see why this guy has shops all over the country." Daichi commented as he emptied his cup.
"The flavors are truly exquisite. I'm glad I got to enjoy this." Kakashi also chimed in.
They spent some time relaxing at the Teashop and soon left the place. The duo walked through the village streets and slowly made their way to Training ground 3.
"I think that should be enough, don't you agree Daichi."
The boy nodded and both Kakashi and Daichi made a hand seal.
"Release."
The next second both ninjas vanished in a puff of smoke.
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Fire Capital.
Daichi and Kakashi were sitting in a room in a different Inn. They stood as they felt the chakra of the shadow clones coming back to them.
"Looks like our clones did a good job fooling everyone into thinking we reached the village." Daichi said as he stretched himself.
"I wonder… Did Kenichi give us those coupons because he truly was grateful or is there something more?"
"I guess we'll find out soon won't we sensei."
Kakashi nodded. "Now that our roles are done for the moment, it's Akai's turn. He'll be able to observe Kenichi's movements much easier without getting noticed."
"Yeah but we're stuck here for who knows how long." Daichi had no problems with staying inside but he was miffed since he didn't know how long it was going to last.
Daichi and Kakashi found out Kenichi's schedule for the next several days before they handed the heirloom to the man. The plan was to see if Kenichi would act any differently once he thought the team he hired had left. And so they waited to see the outcome of their gambit.
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In the Leaf village a few minutes after Kakashi and Daichi left the Kenichi's Teashop a staff member sent a scroll out for delivery. 'Just as Lord Garoya instructed.'
The staff member remembered what the man had said. 'Remember, send this only after the ninjas have returned.'
Once he made sure the scroll would be delivered to the capital soon he went back to work. 'I wonder what that was all about?'
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Akai was watching every move his target made from a safe distance. He made notes of the people the man met and where he went. The shadow clones of Kakashi and Daichi left that morning and it was already late evening.
'He hasn't done anything suspicious yet. Well, only a day has gone by after all. Does he really not know what that Teapot contains?' Akai Hyuga frowned as he paid close attention to the man.
But at that moment the Hyuga saw someone deliver a scroll to Kenichi and Akai saw the glee and joy on the man's face. 'What's he so happy about? What's in that scroll?'
The spying Jonin clearly saw the change in the man's demeanor. 'Looks like Kakashi and Daichi's plan is working… This will be interesting.'
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Kenichi looked at the scroll his men had delivered to him from the Leaf village. It contained the monthly report and details of his business operations of the teashop in the leaf village. A normal scroll with no real value or secret message from someone else's perspective. But that wasn't the case.
'I tasked him with sending me this scroll only after he confirmed the arrival of the two ninjas back in the village. He was to send this specific scroll should that happen… It seems the two ninjas really did return to the village. They weren't suspicious about my story at all. Fantastic.'
The man closed the parchment and went back inside. He went to his private chamber and looked at the family heirloom with an intensity that wasn't present before.
'The great hidden treasure of the legendary Phantom Thief. It's all mine…'
He took the teapot and carefully held it in his hands. 'When I read my father's personal journal I never expected something like this. A secret message stored on the family heirloom. Time to see if it's true or not.'
Kenichi closed the door to his room and all the windows and made sure he had absolute privacy. He took a specialized lightning equipment and turned it on. The entire room was bathed in blue ultraviolet rays. He shined the light over the Teapot. He frowned seeing nothing. But then he carefully took the pot and looked underneath. The next second a wide smile was on his face.
'Yes. It's all true. The location of the great treasure. His journal didn't mention how he found out the identity of the thief or how he came by the secret location but… He knew his memory was failing him. And for him to go to such lengths to preserve the information and on the item he considered the most precious in the family… It must have some truth…'
Kenichi took a book and wrote down what was written underneath the teapot. Once he was done he put the blacklight away and took out his father's journal. He turned the pages and found the keyword necessary for descripting the cipher. After about half an hour he deciphered the message.
'I need a map.'
Kenichi took out a detailed world map and after studying the message found the location mentioned in the message.
'This area. It's within the Fire country but it's a wilderness. As far as I know there are no settlements or such near that place… But I need to make sure. I'll also need to see if there are any bandits hiding there. I'll check it out first thing tomorrow.'
With plans made for tomorrow Kenichi went to sleep dreaming about the wealth he soon would have.
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The next morning Kenichi took a horse and without any guards left his home. He was dressed in simple clothing and at a glance people would mistake him for a commoner. Kenichi left the capital and headed in the direction marked in the map. Unaware that several pairs of eyes were on him and following in the shadows.
After a few hours he reached the area. Kenichi looked around and didn't find another soul in the area. 'Perfect. There isn't anybody here. This place isn't near any traveling routes and there is no strategic value here. The chances of someone coming here is low. That will make this easier.'
He began his search in the thick wilderness. 'Come on. It should be here.'
He carefully looked around and several minutes later found it. A small well that was covered in thick vegetation appeared in his view. 'That's it. That's the spot. Even after all these years it's still here. That well is an ideal location to hide important stuff.'
Kenichi took a look inside the well. The water was clear but he could see a few small snakes and insects inside the water and crawling on the sides of the inner wall.
'I need to get rid of these pests. Can't enjoy the treasure if I'm dead due to a snake bite.'
Kenichi had some training in chakra and knew a few low level techniques so he wasn't that worried. He got to work and after an hour he was done. He looked around and still found no one. He was anxious to see what was at the bottom of the well and without wasting a second he jumped inside. He landed and stood on top of the water on shaky feet.
'Wow…'
The man held his hands out as if to steady himself. 'I can't believe all those times spent on learning about chakra and its uses came in handy… Time to see what's underneath my feet.'
Taking a deep breath Kenichi cut chakra to his feet and immediately plunged into the water. The well was much deeper than one would guess. He swam down and soon he reached the bottom. Kenichi felt around with his hands and feet and didn't find anything except for soil and rocks.. After a couple minutes he came back for air and dove back in. He searched again but he didn't find anything and came up for air a second time..
"Damn it. It's supposed to be here… Did someone else take it? Or did the Phantom move the treasure."
Kenichi went back down for a third time and tried to find anything that could make this trip worth it. But it was for naught. He tried to dig and see if the items were buried but he didn't come across anything other than earth.
He slammed his fists into the wall of the well as took several breaths of air. "Damn it. Damn it!..."
'Its not here… Either it was all a lie or someone else got here first.'
Kenichi was depressed that his endeavor didn't bear any fruit. He slowly climbed out of the well and when he looked up he saw the smiling faces of Daichi, Kakashi and the stoic face of Akai Hyuga.
"Hi there. You seem to be having some trouble."
Kenichi was so shocked at their presence that he almost slipped and fell back into the well. He held on and slowly climbed out.
"Ah… How…Er.. What are you doing here? I thought you went back to the village?"
"We did." Daichi answered.
"But we decided to take a stroll…" It was Kakashi who said that part.
Kenichi narrowed his eyes. He didn't find any treasure and he was already in a bad mood. "I mean how did you get here? Were you following me?"
"Hmm.. Well, we were at the capital a few hours ago and then decided to explore. We just happened to go in the same direction as you…" The silver haired Jonin said with a chuckle. "Anyway, what are you doing here in the middle of nowhere and inside a well?"
Kenichi was silent as he heard the question. 'I was inside that well for quite a while. They couldn't have seen me so they must have been here for a while. They've been following me since I left my home.'
"Nothing. I just dropped something and went to get it." With those words Kenichi made his way to his horse.
"You deciphered the cipher , didn't you?"
Daichi's question stopped the man in his tracks. Despite his body being cold he began to slightly sweat. 'No. Maybe I can still get out of this if I just act dumb. There isn't anything here. So without any evidence I won't be in any trouble.'
"I don't know what you're talking about." The man answered without even looking at the three ninjas.
"Your father was a clever man. To leave a message in a special fluorescent ink that only appears under the light from a special blacklight."
Kenichi swallowed and took a deep breath. 'There is no way these guys can know the Phantom is connected can they… No. It's impossible. I'll just pretend I was here trying to find something else.'
He turned around to face the ninjas. "It was just gibberish. There wasn't anything here. He marked this on the teapot and I just wanted to know why? That's not a crime is it?"
"No. But deliberately withholding information that could potentially help the village discover a vast stolen wealth is…" Kakashi said and the smile on his face slowly vanished.
"Kakashi senpai. I believe it's time we use the carrot and stick ." Akai said.
The Jonin sensei nodded and spoke to Kenichi. "Mr. Kenichi Garoya. Let's stop playing these games. We know the code written on the teapot is the location of the treasure stolen by the infamous Phantom Thief. We know for certain because we've found his real identity and already found his safehouse and part of the stolen loot."
Kenichi's eyes widened as he heard that. The gears in his mind slowly turned. "Wait a minute. It wasn't just some random thief that stole from my home… It was him wasn't it?"
"Yes." Daichi answered. "But he died several months ago."
"Now let me explain what's going to happen. The Hokage is already in the capital. And soon the Daimyo will get involved. You coming here means you knew the truth about the teapot. And since you stayed silent you're gonna be in trouble. We're going to find the remaining treasure and so you have two options. You can cooperate, forget about the stolen wealth and maybe the Daimyo will forgive you. He might even give you a reward for leading us to the thief. Or stay silent, we find the treasure and you'll get to face the Daimyo's anger…"
[Reputation decreases with Kenichi Garoya]
Kenichi gritted his teeth. 'Damn it. Now no matter what I say the Daimyo will eventually get involved. And I'll be in trouble. I'm backed into a corner. Wait…'
Kenichi then smiled as he looked at them. "I wasn't trying to take the stolen treasure for myself. I swear. The reason I didn't say anything earlier is because I wanted to make sure it really was what it was and then once I found it I was going to gift it to the Fire Daimyo. I had no intention of keeping the stolen items for myself." He said in a smiling humble tone.
Daichi sweat dropped as he looked at the man's 180° flip in expression. 'Man… This guy is unbelievable. A wolf in sheep's clothing.'
Akai Hyuga narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man. 'How shameless can you be… Trying to play that card now…'
Daichi and Akai frowned as they looked at the man. But Kakashi was smiling. "Oh is that right, then we were mistaken. If that's the case then you wouldn't mind telling us what was written underneath the Teapot would you? Since you didn't find anything in the well maybe we'll give it a try. What do you say?"
Kenichi was smiling but on the inside he lamented. 'Damn it. I can't lie to them. If I do I'll be in even more trouble. I don't have a choice.'
"Sure. The message was this location and it said that inside the well I'll find a great treasure. That's it."
"I see. Well, thank you for informing us. We'll take it from here." Kakashi said and the next second he created a shadow clone. "Why don't you return to the village. My clone will escort you."
Kenichi knew it wasn't a request. He nodded without saying a word, got on his horse and started to make his way back home with the Kakashi shadow clone following.
"So Akai, found anything?" The real Kakashi asked once the other two left.
"There is a tunnel at the bottom side of the lake leading to a different location. It's strange. For some reason, my Byakugan vision is getting blurry when I'm looking further down the tunnel."
"Well, then. Why don't we check it out ourselves."
The other two nodded to Kakashi's words and jumped into the well. They took a deep breath and plunged into the water. Daichi used observe on everything and soon they reached the bottom. The three ninjas could hold their breath for far longer than an ordinary person and thus were able to investigate longer.
Akai noticed a brick that was connected to a hidden pulley system and pressed it. The brick slid into the wall of the well and the next second a portion of the well started to sink into the ground. Enough for one adult to pass. The three ninjas swam through the water filled tunnel. Soon they began to notice the water level dropping and their feet touched the stone ground.
"We can breathe so that's something. But I can still only see several feet in front of me even with my eyes. It's really strange.” They carefully made their way forward with Akai leading them and soon the tunnel began to get bigger and bigger. Before long Kakashi and the two others were standing at the entrance of a large underground cave. Akai saw a couple torches and lit them.
What the three saw as light illuminated the darkness made them speechless. The cave was far larger than they thought.
They could see several precious artifacts, paintings, statues and other stuff, all perfectly preserved and kept on different tables.
"We did it. We actually found it. The Great Treasure of The Legendary Thief." Daichi said in an awed tone as he looked around.
"Yes. Yes we did."
[Quest ‘The Great Treasure’ Completed.]
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Author's note:
Hi guys. Hope you enjoyed another long chapter.
Now I've been thinking about releasing an additional chapter as a Christmas present but I'm not so sure I'll be able to.
For the moment my plan is to release the next chapter on Sunday and then another Monday and Wednesday. But as an Xmas gift I want to post one on Tuesday without it disrupting my schedule. I'm not sure I'll be able to though. 4 chapters without break. That will be something. We'll see what happens.
Anyway happy holidays guys.
If you enjoyed the chapter hit the little ❤ ️button… see ya.
Comments
Shiro
Ooooh~👀 Damn I’m too excited now!!😆
Mitch Gregory
I'm sure it will be very artistic. ;)
Gamer4Life
You'll find out. Canon will have an explosive start. make of that what you will... (wink wink)
Shiro
I’m done reading and OH.MY.GOD. THAT WAS SO GOOD!! Thank you for always slaying with your chapters, author!🫶This arc is finally coming to an end it seems, I can’t wait for the classes’ graduation and teams!! I wonder what you’ll do with team 7😆
Shiro
WOW 7 MINUTES AGO??!! HECK YEAAAHH!!!😆😆😆
