Chapter 175 - Decades long Mystery - Solved?

                                    

                                          

Kenichi and the two ninjas he hired sat down and made themselves comfortable.
"Alright. What can I help you with?"
"What can you tell us about your father?" Kakashi asked the man while Daichi payed close attention to him.
Kenichi was confused. "What's this about? I thought you were looking into the person who broke into my home?"
"We are. But if we want to find the culprit and retrieve the stolen items then we need more information. We need to know if your father had any enemies? The more information we have the better. I know this might be a difficult subject but we need your help if we want to solve this." Kakashi said in a reassuring tone.
"Okay. What do you want to know about him?"
"Anything and everything you can tell us."
"My father Ichiro was a kind man. He followed in grandfather's footsteps and continued the family business." Kenichi had a smile on his face as he recalled memories of his father.
"He was a brilliant man but he was also a cautious one. He made sure not to step on any toes and that's how he was able to expand the business beyond the capital without making enemies. Father truly believed the history behind the heirloom. He spent his days taking care of me and my mother and growing the business. During the last several years he suffered from memory loss and loss of muscle movement."
"Your father traveled a lot, didn't he?" Daichi asked.
Kenichi nodded his head. "He's visited all over the world and met all kinds of people."
Daichi and Kakashi questioned the man for about half an hour before they were somewhat satisfied. The two ninjas then decided to look around the house to see if they could find something all the others missed.
As they looked around Daichi's eyes were drawn to several animal and bird sculptures locked behind a glass shelf. He used 'observe' skill on one of them and the information he found amazed him.
[Puppet - Crow]
[A chakra puppet created by Niya Ikaru. Special weightless but strong materials were used in the creation of this puppet. This mechanical puppet can only be activated if a certain chakra is poured into it. Once activated this puppet can follow the commands set by the person who activated it. This puppet was mainly used for reconnaissance. Can fly and observe an area or target for several hours and return to the user. Materials used are....]
At that moment a new notification appeared.
[Blueprint for the puppet can be acquired if you examine its inner mechanics.]
Daichi was about to ask if he could look at the puppet more closely but then immediately fell silent. 'I need to be careful with my intentions.'
"Those sculptures look so real. Who created them?" Daichi asked Kenichi.
The man looked at the objects on the shelf. "My mother. She had a fascination with such things. My grandmother was from the wind country. She had a love for puppets. I guess my mother picked it up from her. Those puppets can move for several seconds and can mimic the real thing... Well it was made in a way that only my mother's chakra could make it move."
"I see..."
Daichi looked at the puppets on the shelf and committed their image to memory. He had some things to do.
At that moment Kakashi came and gathered his student. "Well, we will get out of your hair for the moment."
Daichi and his sensei left the house and made their way to an Inn. The rooms were provided by Kenichi till they completed their mission.