章節 186: Chapter 186 - Observe the Diplomats

Daichi was in the backyard, in front of his canvas painting. He was recreating the underground treasure cave of the Phantom Thief on his canvas. Due to his absolute recall ability Daichi remembered every detail and was bringing the location to life.

'This would make a killing in the auction house. People aren't allowed to visit the hidden cave but that doesn't mean I can't draw it up and sell… Well, I would if I ever needed the money.'

The boy's goal was to make a masterpiece painting and improve his dexterity and the Level of his skills. He has completed several sculptures of his friends and various animals these last few days and has improved his sculpting skill.

'I need to create chakra puppets like the ones I took from Kenichi's home. But those items won't be of ordinary rank. And they would only be the start. I need the Creation skill to be at a much higher level if I want to create the things I have in mind. One of the ways to accomplish that is to level up my Painting and Sculpting skills. After that I'll examine the puppets more thoroughly.'

Daichi focused on his painting and slowly completed it. But it was not all he did. Several shadow clones were meditating or using Ninjutsu and improving their level. He made sure to utilize his time to the fullest. He kept getting system messages of level up but Daichi learned to ignore them long ago.

About an hour later he was done.

[You have created a masterpiece painting.]

[+2 Dexterity]

'Hmm… Not bad. Not bad at all…' Daichi thought to himself as he examined his latest work.

A few days passed by with Daichi improving his skills and completing D Rank missions. And soon he got another C Rank mission.

—-

Hiruzen looked over the list of foreign diplomats coming to the village to finalize the agreements made days earlier. 'I need to keep a close eye on every person entering the village. But I also can't just focus on the ones coming into the village. I'll have to make sure the forces at the border aren't weakened.'

"Sir, team Kakashi is here for their mission."

The Hokage nodded. "Send them up."

Soon the ninja duo was in the Kage's office.

"Kakashi, I have a C Rank mission for you today." Hiruzen said without wasting any time.

"Does this have anything to do with the foreign dignitaries and their guards?" Kakashi made an educated guess. He knew the shinobi forces would be spread thin and the village would be on high alert.

"Yes. Your mission is to observe the group from the Hidden Mist Village. They should be arriving at the gates soon. I'll have their schedule for you in a moment. There will be one diplomat and 2 guards. Your task is to keep an eye on all of them. Report if there are any unusual movements and detain if absolutely necessary."

Daichi knew the mission was serious despite its low Rank.

[Quest created - Observe the Diplomats.]

[The Hokage has tasked your team with keeping an eye on the foreign ninjas and diplomats. Do not let the targets out of your sight and take necessary action that will not put the village security at risk to complete this C Rank mission.]

[Rewards:]

10000 Exp.

Reputation increases with the people of the village.

Reputation increases with Kakashi Hatake and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

[Failure:]

Reputation decreases with the Hokage, Kakashi Hatake.

No C Rank missions for a while.

[Accept Y/N]

Daichi immediately accepted the mission while Kakashi got the schedule and reports on the Mist village personnel.

The two ninjas left the tower and they could see that the village was full of activity. Ninjas were patrolling the streets and Daichi could see that they had their guards up.

'I didn't expect such an aftermath when completing that mission.' Daichi thought as he looked around.

"Come on. Let's move."

The Genin didn't waste time and obeyed his sensei. They quickly made their way to the gates and at that moment saw two ninjas with the Mist headband. They were alert the moment they saw the copycat ninja.

Kakashi and Daichi walked up to the group and the Jonin was about to introduce himself. "Welcome to the Leaf village. I'm-"

"Kakashi Hatake. We know who you are." A Mist ninja said, interrupting the silver haired Jonin. His eyes then briefly turned to Daichi.

Kakashi then turned to the diplomat representing the village. "Please follow me. Your accommodations have been arranged."

The man nodded without saying a word and the three foreigners followed Kakashi and his student.

Daichi was on full alert in the presence of these people. 'They're from the Mist village. If I'm right then Yagura must still be in charge and the rebellion must only be in its infancy right now. I need to be careful. One wrong move and I'll be on Obito's radar. If I'm not on it already…'

Daichi looked at the two ninjas and immediately used 'Observe' on them the moment he came near them. 'The diplomat is only a little bit stronger than a civilian. But the other two. Level 70 Shiroya and 78 Oboru. Based on their stats, I'm stronger than them and they are proficient in water and lightning style. I'll have to be careful. I also need to make sure no water clones or such escape my detection.'

None of the people spoke and the ninjas moved in silence observing each other and everything around them. The group soon reached a large building and Kakashi led the ninjas to their assigned rooms.

Kakashi handed the diplomat a scroll. "It contains the itinerary and details the time of the meeting. We'll come to pick you up. Please do not leave the premises without one of us." Kakashi motioned to himself and his student.

The man nodded and the trio went inside. Kakashi and Daichi soon left and got outside the building. "Come on. I know where we can get a good vantage point."

Meanwhile

Meanwhile with the Mist ninjas they were looking around the room. "There are no seals or traps of any kind. Well, nothing I can find anyway." Oboru, the leader of the two guards said.

"Hey captain, you want me to look around the village? Who knows what I might find." Shiroya said with a smile. It soon formed into a grin. "I didn't think we'd run into that brat the moment we set foot here."

"Don't cause any trouble here you two." The diplomat said.

"Come now Kuma. I was joking." The laugh and sadistic grin coming from Shiroya didn't convince the diplomat Kuma at all.

Oboru, who was done inspecting the entire room, spoke. "The location of this room was within my expectations. The Leaf ninjas placed us here so they can keep an eye on us at all times."

"Obviously. It was only a few years ago that the Hyuga incident took place. They won't take any chances this time. And not with such a large group." Kuma said as he sat on the bed.

"What about the border patrols? Surely with so many foreign ninjas the Hokage would have pulled some back to the village…" Shiroya speculated.

'I wonder about that.' The diplomat Kuma was much smarter than the two guards. 'Hiruzen has decades of experience. He wouldn't make a stupid mistake like that. I doubt the defenses at the Leaf border have been weakened because of this.'

Shiroya thought about the team assigned to keep tabs on them and slightly frowned. "It's strange that the Hokage would task a Genin with spying on us. Either that was a critical mistake or…"

"Or that Genin is indeed capable of spying on experienced Jonin and even capture us if need be. The Hokage isn't a fool… If he had assigned that boy to keep an eye on us then he's much more than he seems…" Oboru finished.

He closed his eyes and thought about how to proceed and after a minute made a decision.

"The Mizukage has tasked us with investigating that child if possible… Based on the intel we have, he isn't from any clan. So I'm not certain he has some special tracking skills but we can't be sure of that. I'll lure the Sharingan ninja away when the time comes, you try and see if you can escape the boy's sight and investigate." Oboru said.

Kuma sighed as he recalled what the Mizukage said. "Don't forget. That is still a secondary task. Right now your mission is to protect me for the duration of this journey. Gathering intel on that child and the village is a secondary mission. And a non priority. Don't cause any commotion."

The two ninjas nodded and waited.

—-

"The building has one main exit and one emergency exit. Aside from us there are also patrol ninjas roaming the area. And their room is in a corner so we can keep a close watch over them." Kakashi gave his student a brief overview of the building layout and the surrounding area.

Daichi nodded. He also used Mana Scout skill to keep tabs on the guests.

The meeting between the Hokage and all the foreign diplomats was tomorrow and the team from the Mist village was one of the early ones to arrive. Time went by and soon it was night.

Kakashi and Daichi noticed a ninja they knew as Oboru leave the building through the main exit.

"Sensei, looks like that guy is looking to take a stroll…"

Kakashi's one visible eye slightly narrowed. "I'll go keep him company. You can keep an eye on the others can't you Daichi?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah I'll be fine."

Kakashi disappeared and Daichi paid attention to the two remaining inside the room. 'They must know that we're watching them… So I doubt they would do anything foolish… Still, I shouldn't let my guard down.'

Daichi used Chakra Sense and Mana Scout and made sure they wouldn't give him the slip. 'The Diplomat is asleep and the other guy is just sitting in his bed.'

Daichi kept a close eye on them and felt nothing wrong. That was until a few minutes later when he sensed the minute fluctuations of Shiroya's Chakra. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the shadow of the man. 'What are you up to?'

—-

Back in the room Shiroya carefully made a few hand-seals and a small puddle of water began to form at his feet. The puddle of water then as if it had a life of its own moved forward and under the door, right out the room. All without leaving a trace.

It climbed the wall under the nearest open window and escaped out the building. The water puddle soon reached into the alley and in the shadows soon began to take the form of an unassuming man.

Shiroya in disguise looked around. 'So that brat's not all that great. Looks like I'll be fine… Time to snoop around and see if I can't take anything of value.'

As the mist ninja in disguise was making his plan he suddenly felt a presence behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Daichi casually sitting on the balcony of the nearby building.

"Hi there… Mind telling me why you were sneaking out?" Daichi asked the ninja. His face was expressionless and the look in Daichi's eyes somehow unnerved the Mist ninja.

'This brat found me? But I used the bare minimum of chakra needed. He'd have to be a sensor to track me. I know the captain said no fight but…'

Shiroya couldn't help but sport a bloodthirsty grin on his face. "Why don't you make me."

Daichi didn't look impressed and just kept staring at the man. A few moments of silence later he spoke. "Do you really think a water clone is sufficient to battle me?"

The Mist ninja grinned. "This is a special water clone jutsu. It's much stronger than the normal one."

Daichi looked at the confidence the man exuded and spoke. "You know the thing about water clones? Once they're destroyed, the user will know they're destroyed but nothing more than that. They won't know how or who."

"And you think you can take me down?" The ninja had a mocking smile.

"I do." It wasn't the Daichi in front of the ninja that spoke but one standing behind him.

Before Shiroya could even react, over a dozen wind bullets tore through his body and reduced him to a puddle.

The two Daichi's looked at the puddle and narrowed their eyes. 'There is still some chakra left in the water.'

A small fire ball jutsu from the Genin reduced the water to vapor. They looked around and noticed a patrolling Jonin looking at the scene. The Jonin gave Daichi a small nod and left. Their task done, the two Daichi's vanished in a puff of smoke the next second.