Painting Heist (2)

Shinobi missions were divided into four ranks, from A to D.

D-rank missions had the lowest prestige, although at the same time they pose virtually no risk for the shinobi at all. They were mostly simple labor, perfect for recent graduates to hone their teamwork and learn how the rules work.

C-rank missions, on the other hand, were more geared toward Chuunin-level shinobi, or experienced Genin who had earned the trust of the village council. Unlike B-ranked and A-ranked missions, there was no fear of engaging in combat with shinobi from opposing forces, although there might be a need to fight against other dangerous elements like wild beasts or highwaymen.

"Teacher! What's the mission gonna be?!"

Kiba was understandably ecstatic about it. Hinata and Shino, although not openly showing it on their face, were also shaking with anticipation.

Although C-rank mission was barely above simple labor, it would be their first chance to prove themselves capable of performing shinobi works. The result of this mission might as well decide their future!

"Fufufu, don't get too worked up now. A shinobi has to exercise patience."

Kurenai threw the scroll to the kids, allowing them to read it. The summary of the mission was written in the topmost paragraph, and it read "Object reclamation."

"Eh...?" Kiba frowned. "This term... isn't this the same thing as searching for missing items?"

"Correct," Kurenai nodded.

"Wha-? There's no difference with our usual missions, then!"

"Kiba, what determines the rank of a mission is not just the content of the mission, but also its complexity and potential danger. Read further before complaining."

"Collaborative mission..." Shino murmured.

It was written that aside from their team, two other teams were also assigned to the same mission. Surprisingly, they were made out of Chuunin-ranked ninja!

While they were still staring in shock at the detail, Kurenai abruptly asked a question.

"You guys, do you know what an ukiyo-e is?"

Kiba gave her a blank look, so she turned to Hinata instead.

"U-um... if I remember correctly... i-it's a wooden block painting...?"

"Correct. While the market isn't as big as canvas-based painting, there are still quite a lot of big names in the world of ukiyo-e. Their paintings are worth millions of ryo."

"Millions..." Kiba yelped. "How many steaks could we buy with that...?"

Shino frowned, feeling that the discussion had gone off track.

"Teacher, what does the mission have to do with art?"

"A lot. Two days ago, a famous ukiyuo-e painter in the country was murdered."

The kids' attention was drawn instantly. Death and murder were quite common in this harsh world, but if it ended up with a mission for the village, it could only mean one thing.

"It was done by shinobi, wasn't it?"

"Correct, Shino. After killing the painter, the murderer had also stolen his latest work, a four-panel painting that was supposed to be revealed this morning. However, because of this incident, the exhibition had to be canceled. Now, here is the crux of the mission.

The painter has designated a successor, his sole disciple. As it turned out, the murderer had only managed to stole two panels out of the painting. The other one was in the possession of the disciple, while the last one was missing. The disciple said that the master had hidden it by himself without telling anyone. Our mission is to investigate the location of this last panel."

"What about the other teams?" Kiba asked.

"One team will be assigned to guard the disciple, while the other team will track down the murderer and retrieve back the two panels. Those are designated B-rank missions due to a high chance of entering combat with the murderer and the people behind them."

"How is it? Still think this is a simple mission?" She couldn't help but tease them a bit. The pupils quickly shook their heads.

"Due to the nature of this mission, we'll have to stay outside of Konoha for a while. We have already informed your family, so there's no need to worry. I'll give you two hours to prepare the supplies that you need to bring. After that, rendezvous at the northern gate. We'll depart immediately after. Any question? Good. Dismissed!"

The kids quickly ran back to their home, eager to start their first C-rank mission.

---

Hana was helping Kiba to prepare for the journey. She knew that if left to his own device, the boy would just bring lots of meat. Aside from spare clothes, she also brought him medical supplies in case anyone in the team got hurt.

"You have to listen to miss Kurenai, okay?"

"I know, big sis! You already said that multiple times!" Kiba scoffed.

Hana sighed. It was her little brother's first actual mission, and it was outside the village to boot. She knew that a Jonin like Kurenai was qualified to keep the kids safe, but she still couldn't help but worry.

Woof!

Akamaru sauntered into the kitchen. A green piece of cloth was tied around his neck, resembling a small pouch.

"Awh, that's so cute! Did you make it for him?"

"I didn't? Hmm, weird..."

Kiba narrowed his eyes at his partner, but the dog just gave him the usual carefree look.

"Eh, whatever. Maybe Hinata did, I'm not sure. Anyway, I'm running late. Thanks, sis! Catch ya later!"

"Remember to wash your hands before eating! Also, don't- ah, he's gone..."

"Can it, Hana. I'm his mother and even I'm not that worried."

Tsume yawned as she walked in with Kuromaru.

"Well, you should be worried a bit more, mom..."

"He's an adult now, he'll be fine. Right, Kuro?" She patted the wolf-like hound by her side.

"Hmm. Akamaru is with him as well. The pup is more reliable than that boy. There should be no problem."

Something seems wrong with that comment...

Hana slouched over the table. Her anxiety had managed to tire her out. Maybe she needs to listen to her mother and just take it easy.

"Hmm? Did Kiba just leave?"

Hikari popped up from behind the corner.

"You've just missed him," Hana mumbled.

"Oh. Alright then."

She was about to return something to Daji, but the pup had already left with his owner. Nevermind. She would just keep it for now.

The girl ran off to continue her training, hoping that she could at least raise up a rank in cultivation before the season changed.

---

Team 8 departed from Konoha at noon, following the northern main road toward the small town where the murdered painter had lived. They only managed to reach their destination the next day.

"Hooo, the place's way smaller than our village!" Kiba remarked.

"K-Kiba... y-you're too loud..."

"Fufu... Well, perhaps only the capital, where the Daimyo lives, could compare in size with our village. More importantly, can you see that?"

Kurenai pointed at a square, block-like building standing on top of a small hill in the distance.

"That's the studio of the ukiyo-e painter. The team responsible for guarding the disciple is there as well. Come, we should meet up with them first."

The kids nodded, following their commander in silence. Since only civilians lived in this town, Kurenai had warned them not to openly reveal themselves as ninja unless the situation called for it. That was the common sense when working outside of the village.

"Act natural, act natural..."

"K-Kiba... it-it'll be alright..." Hinata whispered, trying to calm him down, although her constant fidgeting was even more conspicuous.

"..."

Watching his teammates' antics, Shino could only facepalm.

Thankfully, due to their young age, the residents didn't think too deeply into it and pass them off as innocent children.

"We're here. By the way, you guys need to take it easy next time," Kurenai said while pushing the door open.

"I-I'm taking it easy!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you do."

The inside of the square building was actually more normal than the outside, with enough furniture to make it a proper 'house'. Rows upon rows of ukiyo-e paintings lined the wall. Some of them depicted otherworldly beauties, while the others showed drawings of mythical being as well as scenes from various folktales.

There was something mysterious within those paintings. Was it the expertly-drawn lines that seemed to accentuate every part of the drawing, or was it the sublime coloring that managed to make the painting pops out to the real world? Either way, the kids were helplessly drawn in as their gaze went from one painting to another.

"They're beautiful... aren't they...?" Hinata murmured.

"Yeah... I can't understand it, but aren't they awesome?"

"Hmm..." even Shino had to give his approval. They were indeed paintings worth millions of ryo!

"I'm happy that you guys like them. The paintings exhibited in our gallery are those that my master is most proud of."

A raspy voice came from the staircase. The owner, a disheveled young man with thick bags under his eyes, stepped down soon after, followed by a ninja wearing a forehead protector with Konoha's symbol on it.

"Miss Kurenai. You've finally arrived," when he saw the Jonin, he quickly gave her a salute.

"Atsushi, I believe that everyone is doing fine?"

"Yes. Yoshifumi and his team are still following the clues left by the murderer. On my side, there has been no attempt on Sir Tendai so far, but we can't let down our guard just yet. I've sent my team to secure the perimeter."

"Understood. Then, about the missing ukiyo-e panel..."

"Allow me," the young man motioned for them to follow him upstairs.

If the first floor could be considered normal, then the second floor was showing the nature of an artist. Buckets of paints were scattered all over the place, while wooden pieces both small and large littered the entire floor.

The young man scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ah, where's my manner... I'm Tendai. I study and work here under my poor late master as his assistant. This second floor is our studio, while the floor above is our living space."

The lanky man somehow managed to maneuver through the maze of wooden blocks with relative ease, reaching the other end of the room in less than a few seconds. When he returned to the group, he brought with him a panel of ukiyo-e the size of a booklet.

The drawing showed a picture of a vast blue sky as seen from the top of a mountain, with a faint resemblance of a thriving city in the bottom. The quality was even more mystical than the ones they had seen below. It was as if the painting had turned into reality, with the sky enveloping them as the warm summer wind blew.

"Wind..." Kurenai blinked. "Is this drawing representing 'wind'?"

"Miss, you're quite knowledgeable!" Tendai showed them a wide smile. "It is indeed the panel representing wind. The other panels are flower, bird, and moon."

"M-Miss Kurenai, h-how did you know...?"

"There is a saying that reads 'Kachou Fuugetsu' -Flower, bird, wind, and moon. Each character evokes the sense of smell, hearing, touch, and sight, respectively," Kurenai explained. Then, she turned back to Tendai. "For your master to be able to truly convey the feeling in a single glance... what talent!"

"Right?!" Tendai groaned. "This is supposed to be master's magnum opus, the painting that will cement his name in history! But that damn murderer has to ruin everything! It's truly regrettable!"

The disciple's reaction was so animated that the kids involuntarily took a step back in a mixture of fear and disgust. Kurenai and Atsushi, however, retained their calm facade, as expected of experienced shinobi.

"Then, the missing painting..."

"It's the 'moon' panel," Tendai replied. "Only when the four panels are united will master's genius finally come to light. I have faith that you guys can get back 'flower' and 'bird' pieces from that blasted culprit, but the 'moon' is still a mystery even to me. Master had hidden it by himself, saying that he would only show it when it's time for a public reveal. That's why the mayor and I agreed to make one more request to Konoha, asking for someone good with tracking down missing items."

"We won't let you down," Kurenai firmly nodded. "Did your master say anything to you at all regarding the 'moon' piece?"

"Unfortunately, no..." Tendai bit his lips. "However, he might've left some clues in his room."

"Then, we'll request free access around the building. Would that be fine?"

"Certainly, certainly! Anything to get master's greatest work back together!"

Leaving Tendai to Atsushi's care, Kurenai led the pupils toward the third floor. Half of the floor was divided into two rooms, with the smaller one inhabited by Tendai and the bigger one by his master. The toilet and a small kitchen were also located on this floor.

"What do you guys think?" Kurenai glanced at the kids. Shino was as unreadable as always, while Hinata was still fidgeting. Kiba, on the other hand, had a deep frown on his face.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow.

"Kiba, something on your mind?"

"Hmm... I just feel that it's really complicated... but basically, we're just going treasure hunting, right?"

He wasn't the type of person to appreciate art. While he could tell that the painting just then was superbly done, he couldn't understand how that small piece of wood could be more expensive than the best beef steak from old man Kuriyama's shop.

However, since finding that 'moon'-whatever piece was a part of their mission, then he'd just do his best!

"Treasure hunting... that's one way to put it," Kurenai smiled. She then pushed the sliding door open, revealing the master painter's messy study.

"Well then, kids. Show me what you can do."