A young man in dark blue clothing stepped out onto the stormy waters, running on the surface of the waves like he'd done so many times before. When he reached an area between some jagged rocks, he looked in every direction to ensure he was alone and brought the Yata no Kagami mirror out, peering down at the water underneath his feet and speaking in Japanese.

"Susanoo sama, I have acquired Yata no Kagami, but the other two treasures are missing; I think it is safe to assume they have been moved somewhere." The shinobi reported in Japanese.

"And?" Susanoo's voice resounded from under the seas.

"And I need to know how to use the mirror's ability to show me their current locations; you can show me, can you not?"

"Yata no Kagami can only be used by us kami; you cannot use the mirror yourself, but I can. In order to use the mirror's abilities, I'd ordinarily need to be physically present with it, and you know I am still trapped here by the allies of Amaterasu, far beneath your world." Susanoo replied. "However, if you drop the mirror in this very spot, deep in the stormy seas where we can freely communicate, I should be able to utilize them through my own abilities!"

"Should? Do you mean you just expect me to drop this priceless treasure to the bottom of the ocean and hope for the best!?"

"You have a tongue sharper than any kunai or shuriken, Kōrima... be watchful that it doesn't come back to pierce you through! You must trust me, or you have no hope in finding the information you truly seek. Now do as I command you, mortal, and I will find them for you."

The young ninja sighed and let go of the mirror, and when Yata no Kagami reached the bottom, Susanoo spoke again.

"I can see the curved jewel and the sword are both traveling in guarded horse-pulled wagons, each heading in a different direction and only sparingly stopping to rest. They've obviously figured you out already."

"Figured me out? It's your plan!" Kōrima sassed the kami inside his head. He asked him out loud, "So, where are the wagons currently, and how do I pick them out from the rest?"

"One is currently in Kyōto city, stopped for supplies it seems. The other is moving on the road from Mito towards Fukushima. They've taken great care to make themselves indistinguishable from the ordinary folk, but a master shinobi like you should have plenty of experience in seeing through deception, right?"

Kōrima confidently nodded.

"Remember, bring me all three treasures, and I will finally tell you everything you wish to know."

Kōrima then held his hand out, and a pillar of ice raised up from the depths of the sea and brought the mirror back to him. He stowed it away and quickly traveled back towards land, heading to his next target.

Meanwhile, the Time Detectives, their client, and their feathered companion gathered around Detective Loki in the forest near the shrine.

"Lokis and wannabes, todays's lesson in Loki magic shall be in learning to hide your very presence from others." Loki explained. "If you're successful, you'll be able to walk right in front of someone's eyes, yet remain completely invisible!"

"Wow, can I learn this magic too?" Watari eagerly asked. "That sounds like it would come in handy for a lot of situations!"

"You're more than welcome to try."

"So you're teaching all of us, not just Syl?" Mobius asked.

"Anyone who wants to learn can do so today, though it won't be an easy matter, especially in such a short period of time!"

"How long did it take you to learn?" Sylvie asked her fiancé.

"Actually, I sort of stumbled upon this ability by accident as a boy. I was hiding from Odin one day after freeing the prized goat he meant to serve for dinner that night, and he sent one of the Einherjar to fetch me from my hiding place. In retrospect, even then I should have realized the futility of hiding from the Allfather of the Nine Realms, especially when his gatekeeper can see everything in those realms! Well, almost everything: when the guard had reached me and removed my cover, I was perplexed to see him still look around for me, even though I was right in front of his eyes!"

"So what did you do?"

"I waited until after the banquet, and later in the evening, Mother's projection found me; she convinced me to return to the palace, told me... that my family loved me more than a goat dinner."

"But Odin was still pretty ticked off!" Mobius recalled.

"He was. But Thor bagged him a large deer when he found out, and Mother snuck me a bowl of venison soup. But before I digress any further, I'll start by teaching you the basics I learned as a child. I'm certain I didn't fool Heimdall back then: it took me years to perfect it to that level, so I'll at least still be able to see you. And I can conceal you on the mission if you don't get it right away."

"So, from what you told us, we just really try to hide ourselves, and we do it?" Sylvie figured.

"Not quite: I tried that again afterwards and failed, trying to figure out my own process until I finally did. Here, let me show you." Loki then explained the process to Sylvie and Mobius, who each tried to replicate his technique.

"Yeah, I think this one's too hard for me." Mobius admitted after a few hours of practice.

"I think I've got it!" Sylvie closed her eyes and imagined herself blending into her environment. She then opened her eyes and snuck around Mobius until she was in front of him. She held up two fingers in a victory sign. "How many fingers am I holding, Mobius?"

"Two."

Sylvie groaned. "I thought for sure I had it!"

"Don't be discouraged, Syl, I told you it wouldn't be easy." Loki reassured her. "Just keep practicing, and you'll get the hang of it."

"Not to ruin your moment of encouragement, but we should get to the warlords before the thief strikes next!" The crow Yatagarasu advised.

"Yeah, we get it already, yadda yadda yadda..." Sylvie mocked him. "Hey, that's a good nickname for you."

"He's right though: the daimyō will be wary of intruders." Watari told her. "And it would probably be best for just one of us to sneak in at a time and get the information."

"Yes, I suppose that would be most efficient." Loki agreed, yet he looked in her direction to find no one there! The other did the same when they noticed Loki searching for her.

"Oh, sorry, I'm right here!" Watari said as she reappeared.

Sylvie frowned. "You don't mean-"

Loki raised his eyebrows. "Well done, Ms. Watari, you've just successfully concealed your presence." He shook his head. Midgardians... they always find new ways to surprise me!"

"And irritate youuu!"

"...And irritate me." Loki thought to Healer. "It took me weeks to figure out how I hid my presence, albeit I was a child and self-taught, but still..."

"There is something peculiar about this womannn."

"You took the words right from my tongue."

"'Midgardian?' Is that what you call a Japanese person?" Watari guessed.

"That means anyone from your entire realm, including humans, but not specifically Japanese humans."

"Seriously, how did you do that!?" Sylvie questioned Watari, much more conspicuously irritated than her fiancé. "Are you some kind of kami or something in disguise, or a witch or magician, or what!?"

"No kami, just good with spells." She replied.

Loki gave Jörmungandr a telepathic instruction and complimented. "Indeed, you clearly know your magic, as evidenced by you calling our hotline without a telephone."

Watari blinked. "What is a telephone? A method of communication?"

"Long distance communication, not to be commonplace here for hundreds of years." Mobius answered her while Loki's faithful serpent silently spoke back to his owner. "On that subject, Lokes, we'll contact you if we hear about any more thefts while you're doing your super-undercover interrogations."

"Right." Loki then sought out the leaders of the main clans in each province. Hiding his presence, he snuck past their security, noticing troops of samurai on the lookout for intruders. "Samurai..." Loki mused in his head. "I'm almost tempted to let one of them see me, merely to see one in action!"

"We could take all these samuraiii in this palace, but your style is more... ninja-like!" Healer summarized. "Sooo... we get sneaky!"

"I suppose that's true." Loki thought as he waited for one of the daimyō's subordinates to enter his room with his pitcher and glasses of sake. "Ooh, sake!"

"I doubt that ninjas drink while on missions, though..."

"I'd wager they do: they're likely just so secretive about it that no one finds out to tell anyone." Loki argued as he followed behind the feudal lord's subordinate, undetected. When Loki and his Symbiote were alone with the daimyō, the Jotun-Asgardian trickster let him take a few sips before he placed a hand on the man's head and looked into his mind. "It would seem this man has hired many shinobi in his lifetime, but no recollections of any legendary mirror being stolen."

"What about that other topic you are researchinggg?"

Loki grinned and released the nobleman's head. "Japanese mythical figures and creatures... yes, there's also the matter of figuring out the identity of our mysterious client, as well as the thief we're after?"

"You don't think that they're-"

"One and the same?" Loki quickly snatched the daimyō's glass and downed a round of sake, leaving him bewildered as he only saw the glass move and empty itself. "They could be... we still have much more information to gather before we come to a conclusion!"

"Yo-yōkai! I'm being haunted by a mischievous spirit!" The man jumped backwards. "That or too strong sake!"

"Hm, good guess; we should do a bit of research on these 'yōkai' as well." Loki placed the bottle back in the daimyo's shaking hand and rifled through his papers. "Here we go, yōkai are either mischievous or helpful spirits that can appear as animals, people, elements of nature, or even inanimate objects. It says they can shapeshift too and use a variety of other powers... but they seem to usually transform into beautiful women!" Loki speed read.

"Ahhh... so Watari is a lokai?"

"Yōkai, and next to Yatagarasu the talking crow, it doesn't seem too farfetched a theory, does it? Jörmungandr told me he smelled a canine scent on her... well, let's see what else we can find on these yōkai and their abilities, and then we can determine whether or not she's setting us up!"

"So, we probably won't see any actual ninja until we find our suspect, right?" Healer reviewed as they infiltrated the next daimyō's castle.

"Correct: I've learned that they perpetually disguise themselves as ordinary people, such as farmers, to blend in, so we won't likely see any acrobats in black karate uniforms and ski masks running around!" Loki looked into the mind of the next feudal lord, in search of anything ninja-related. "Ooh, here's one that this man hired somewhat recently... Katō Danzō: apparently his abilities are so phenomenal, this daimyō, among a great many others, believes this Danzō to be a sorcerer: he once swallowed a live bull in front of at least 20 witnesses, and people say he can even fly!"

"Can he turn invisible too?"

"I'm not sure, but he is quite stealthy! Apparently, he was hired to steal a sword for this man from a heavily guarded castle, and not only did he return with it, he also brought back one of the servant girls with it!"

"Sooo... you think he's the guy? If he swallowed that mirror... well, we are going to be in for one nasty confrontationnn!"

"While I agree with your latter remark, this daimyō doesn't know anything about the missing mirror either, and we still have plenty of other daimyō to interrogate and suspects to add to our list!"

"Ughhh, okayyy-"

As they did so, Loki and Healer compiled a list of the shinobi they learned of, coming across a handful in particular who could have stolen the mirror, including...

"Fumetsu na Kōrima..." Loki opened a scroll, containing the name that Loki read 不滅な氷魔.

"An immortal ice demon?" Healer translated. "AWESOMESAUCE!"

"'Kōrima appears to be his name... it says here, 'He is known for his mastery of many ninjutsu and taijutsu, yet he is even more proficient at using genjutsu to confuse his enemies. So far, no one who has seen his face out of disguise has lived to tell the tale, and he is also a master of stealth. His only known name, meaning 'ice demon,' came from the few that have felt the sudden icy chill of his presence, some even seeing frost emerge on their surroundings before he strikes! His title comes from one of the few known facts about him: he is unkillable, some even say immortal! Swords do not pierce him, he has been shot in vital areas of the body, set on fire, blasted with explosives, even had a house dropped on him once, and he has reportedly lived for hundreds of years!' Healer, you recall there was a patch of dew on the grass at the crime scene... what if that moisture was once frost, left by the intruder?"

"Whoaaa, this guy sounds really cool! Uhhh... no pun intended. Now have we finally got a lead!?"

Loki smirked. "We certainly have!"

"YESSS! Then it's ninja-tracking time!"

"Which will be easier said than done, but we'll take down one obstacle at a time. For now, we're going to outfox a certain yōkai!"

Meanwhile, Kōrima arrived in Kyōto, disguised as a farmer while he scouted the area for horse-pulled wagons. From a distance, he planned his next move. "If I approach too many wrong wagons, my real targets will catch on to me and take off before I even realize they've left the city. But if it's not the real me..." He ducked into an alleyway, making a quick hand sign, and several illusionary copies of himself popped out of smoke. With another gesture, Kōrima then transformed his duplicates into fruit flies, and he had one search the inside of each wagon, until one of them found Kusanagi no Tsurugi. "Found you... now I only need a distraction, and the sword is mine!"