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It was 1hr past midnight and the mission that was assigned to The two man Genin team was completed without any problems.

Kakashi and Daichi's shadow clones picked up the bandits and followed their creators. They made their way to the Daimyo mansion and handed the unconscious bandits to the guards. Once their task was completed the shadow clones dispelled themselves.

The Daimyo's men took the restrained men and locked them behind bars until their fate was decided.

"It looks like we were able to get this done much sooner than I thought." Daichi said as he looked at his teacher.

"True. So it seems we'll be back in the Leaf village by morning."

"Do you think the Daimyo will see us at this hour? It's the middle of the night after all." The Genin asked his teacher.

"He did tell us that we should see him as soon as the mission was done. So I don't see any problems." The Jonin just shrugged and waited for their client.

Daichi didn't ask anything more and looked at the unconscious ninja on the ground.

'Observe'

[LV.51] [Yamaha Toshigaki]

Age: 30

HP: 5358 CP: 4691

[Yamaha Toshigaki is a former ninja of the Village Hidden in Hot Water and a former citizen of the Land of Hot Water. He became a Genin at 11 and Chunin at the age of 16. He is a friendly man who used to love his village. During his last mission his teammate betrayed him and Yamaha took the blame for a crime he didn't commit. He was considered a traitor by most and became hated by the people of the village. The Village Leader and the Daimyo later made the decision to exile him from their land.

STR - 91

AGI - 83

INT - 48

The physical stats may be subjected to change if chakra or technique is applied.]

Daichi's eyes slightly softened as he read the description. 'Betrayed by a teammate and had to go on the run huh. Just bad luck. Based on my info, it seems this guy has morals... But why did the Village leader and Daimyo exile him instead of clearing his name?'

Daichi slightly shook his head and thought about the two academy students who were temporarily his teammates. 'This exact situation is what I want to avoid. A stab in the back by someone you trust when you least expect. If I had become teammates with them, then it wouldn't have been smooth sailing for me. Still, I wonder what they're doing now?'

As several thoughts were running through the Genin's mind the Tea Daimyo came to them with two guards by his side. The two Leaf ninja stood in attention and gave a small short bow of respect.

The Daimyo looked at the ninja on the floor and smiled as he turned his attention back to the two Leaf shinobis. "Well done. I didn't think you'd complete this mission so quickly. Were there any problems?"

"No sir. Everything went smoothly. This is the one behind the whole bandit troubles."

The Daimyo nodded. "Please wake him up. There are some things I need to ask him."

Daichi nodded and pressed a pressure point under the downed man's neck and in a few seconds the man's eyes suddenly opened wide and he came to consciousness. He coughed a few times and took several deep breaths of air. He felt the ninja wire restraining his body and looked around. Seeing that there was no chance of escape he stopped struggling and stopped his resistance. Daichi's hands were on his shoulders to subdue him, in case he decided to attack.

The Daimyo looked at the man with a stoic expression. After several seconds of silence he began the conversation. "It seems you know the position you're in. Good. Now. I'm going to ask you some questions and I would appreciate it if you could answer me honestly."

The tied up ninja looked at the Daimyo with a tired look and just nodded his head.

Seeing the man's compliance, the Tea Daimyo began questioning him. "What's your name?"

"Yamaha Toshigaki."

"Where are you from, Yamaha Toshigaki?"

"I'm from… I was from the Land of Hot Water."

The tea Daimyo slightly narrowed his eyes. "Was from? Are you a missing ninja?"

"No. I'm just exiled from there." The man shook his head and replied.

"That's a surprise. When ninjas go rogue, they are declared a missing nin. But you're saying that is not the case… I'm sure there's a story behind that. I'm curious to hear it."

The man just looked at the Daimyo of the small country with slight anger on his face. "Why does it matter to you? I attacked the people of this land. I got caught. Just put me in a dungeon or get it over with."

The ruler of the Land of Tea was silent as he looked at the man. A few moments later he replied. "It's true you did bring a bandit group and attacked my people. But they didn't cause any serious damages to the properties or fatally injure anyone. And I'm guessing they were told not to by you. I want to know why? And I want to know what's your reason for taking over the Toujin fortress. I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself. So start from the beginning."

Kakashi was also curious to hear the backstory of the man. He knew the ninja gave strict orders not to harm the people of this village. Some may have caused small injuries but nothing that couldn't be healed. So the Jonin was also curious about the nature of the man and his true purpose here in the Land of Tea.

Yamaha was silent for a short time contemplating his options. After a while he decided to just tell the truth.

"As I said earlier, I was born in the Land of Hot water. I was a ninja there. A few months back, during a mission, my teammate and I were sent on a mission to guard a wealthy client. He was moving a lot of money and he asked for our protection. My teammate got greedy and killed him. He took the money and fled and I went after him. During our fight he accidentally got killed but that's when another team from the village found us. I took the blame for his crimes and they called me a traitor. The Village Leader is an old friend of mine. He was the only one who believed me. He was able to convince the Daimyo of my innocence but no one else would believe me. The pressure to imprison me was increasing so he made a decision to exile me."

Kakashi gave a small sigh as he heard the story. 'His voice, tone and body language tells me that he's telling the truth… What an unfortunate turn of events for him. Such is the life of a ninja. Sometimes we don't know who our real enemy is…'

The Tea Daimyo looked at the two Leaf ninjas. "Is he telling the truth? Can you tell?"

Daichi nodded his head. "Yes. I've been keeping an eye on his vitals. He hasn't lied so far."

The Daimyo nodded and his face slightly softened as he turned to the man. "I'm sorry for what you went through. But the people here were not responsible for anything that happened to you. So why did you attack us?"

"I just wanted to buy some time. It wasn't my intention to harm anyone here. I knew you would hire ninjas to get rid of the bandits and I knew they would return the stolen money to your people but I didn't think you'd do it so soon." Yamaha said with a tired sigh.

"You were counting on us coming? But you obviously had no intention of surrendering at first. So that means you were planning on abandoning them and escaping from the start weren't you?" The Jonin asked as he looked at the man.

"Yes." The tied up ninja nodded.

"You said you wanted to buy time. What were you looking for in the Toujin Fortress?" The tea Daimyo asked.

Yamaha was silent and looked down. 'I already told them this much. No point in keeping quiet now.'

"I remembered the stories my grandfather used to tell. How he helped in building that fortress almost a century ago. He told me that during its creation, he and a couple others were secretly told to build a small escape tunnel from the building. He also remembered hearing rumors of a chamber that was secretly being built in the fortress. I knew a chamber like that would be filled with money or something really valuable. So I subdued a group of low-life scums who rob travelers and made them rob you. My plan was to find the secret room, then take the money and leave through the tunnel without anyone knowing."

Hearing that, the Daimyo's eyes widened. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought about that debacle.

Kakashi, looking at the daimyo's reaction, sighed. 'So it seems this guy is telling the truth.'

"The Daimyo who ruled before my predecessor was somewhat of a tyrant. It was his father who gave the order to build the fortress. He put heavy taxes on people and made a lot of wealth. And he stored all that money in his secret room. The man was also afraid of a coup from the people of the village so during the creation of the fortress he had a secret exit built into the fortress that wasn't even shown on the blueprints."

"Is it still there? That money?" Daichi asked with curiosity.

The Daimyo shook his head. "No. My predecessor was a good man. After he took the position he gave the stolen wealth back to the people of this land. That chamber is empty."

Yamaha was shocked to hear that. "N-no. Th-that can't be. You're telling me I did all this for nothing."

"Yes." Came the short reply from the ruler.

Yamaha Toshigaki looked down and it seemed as if his spirit had left him. Kakashi glanced at the tied up ninja and knew he had no more fight left in him. The Jonin felt slightly bad for the man.

It was at this moment, the Tea Daimyo spoke again. "Hypothetically, if you got the money what would you do?"

"What's the point in asking me that?"

"Humor me."

Yamaha shook his head and a short while later replied. "I would find some remote place to spend the rest of my life in peace… But why does that matter now? Are you gonna give me the money?" He asked sarcastically.

"Watch your tone." The guard standing behind the Daimyo glared at the man for his rudeness.

The Daimyo chuckled when he heard that question. "No. I'm not gonna give you any money. What I will give you is a second chance."

Yamaha was confused at that. "Based on the information I looked over, the bandits caught today were the ones causing minor issues to lone travelers in the border of my country. It was the Leaf ninjas who caught them, but it can also be said that you had a hand in their capture. Since you were the one who set them up in the first place. And since all the money stolen is returned and no one is seriously harmed I am willing to let things slide. "

"You're willing to let me go?" The shock on Yamaha's face wasn't a surprise since everyone else in the room aside from the Daimyo felt the same.

"On certain conditions, yes. And you're not exactly in a position to negotiate." The ruler of the Land of Tea said with an authoritative tone.

The exiled ninja narrowed his eyes and looked at the man. "What's the catch?"

The Daimyo had a serious look as he spoke. "I'll give you your freedom, but you become a ninja under me, bound to this land. Since you're exiled and not a missing ninja, it won't be a problem. You'll escort and protect the merchants and travelers to nearby villages for two years without any pay. I'll give you food and shelter for the two years but that's it. After that you're free to go or you can stay here. You can even continue as you were but you will be paid for your work. Your crimes will be forgiven and you get a second chance at a normal life... Or you can be locked up with the rest of your men. And if you think about betraying the trust, I'll make sure you're marked as a missing nin. So what will it be?"

Kakashi and Daichi were surprised at the turn of events. 'Considering the situation I know what I would do… Still, I didn't see that coming.' Daichi thought as he looked at the man.

"Why are you showing mercy to me?" The bound shinobi asked the Daimyo in a small voice.

"Hmm… I'm someone who believes in second chances. I don't think you're a terrible person. I think you're just someone looking to survive."

'I heard rumors that the Tea Daimyo is a kind man but I didn't think he would have given me another chance.' Yamaha thought about his choices and a few moments later he made his decision. "I accept… My Lord." The tied ninja bowed to the Daimyo and then raised his head to look at the man.

Tea Daimyo nodded and looked at the two Leaf ninjas. "Release him."

Daichi looked at Kakashi and the Jonin just shrugged his shoulders. The Genin released the ninja wire and the man slowly stood up. There were a few tense seconds at first but then the man gave a deep bow to the Daimyo and the guards and the Tea Daimyo relaxed.

"Take him to the quarters. I'll be along shortly." The order was given and the guards escorted the man out of the room.

The Daimyo looked at the Leaf ninjas and smiled. "Thank you for your hard work. You two completed the assignment perfectly."

"Thank you."

"Now, here's your mission slip. Have a safe journey back to the village."

Daichi looked at the quest completion box while Kakashi secured the mission completion slip in his pocket.

[Quest 'Retake the Fortress' Completed.]

.

[Rewards:]

[15000 Exp.]

[2250 Exp.]

[+1 Dignity Stat]

[Reputation increases with the Client.]

[Reputation increases with people in Tea country.]

'Just 8000 exp more and I'll get to level 55.'

"Alright Daichi, time to head home." The two ninja left the Tea Daimyo's house and were about to head back when Daichi sensed a fast incoming projectile.

'Behind.' The Genin swiftly tilted his head to the side and saw a small object pass by at great speed. It hit a nearby rock and went flying straight at Kakashi. The Jonin tracked its movements and easily caught the moving object.

"What the hell is that?" Daichi was confused and used chakra sense on his surroundings. He couldn't sense any enemies and then looked at his sensei.

Kakashi looked at the moving object in his hand and was surprised. Daichi's eyes widened as he laid eyes on it as well. 'Wait a minute. That's…'

"This is Guy's ninja turtle. He only uses it for emergencies." The Jonin said as he looked at the turtle smaller than a palm. There was a glowing SOS on its shell.

"Turtle… turtle… Guy needs help."

Hearing that, Daichi sighed and gave his sensei the stink eye. "You just had to jinx us didn't you!?"

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Author's Note:

The next arc will be a long arc like the treasure hunt and Jedayu's revenge arcs but there will be no investigation or any such things. This arc is gonna be a straight up battle arc.

And one more thing. Don't think this coming arc is gonna be a filler one. This mission and the events taking place will be crucial to Daichi and his plans for the future. You'll understand once you read the whole arc. See ya...