[Ding—]
[Mission Triggered!]
[Mission: The apocalypse approaches. Zombies will attack your backyard by nightfall. Plant enough sunflowers before dark to gather sunlight and defend against the incoming horde.]
[Reward: Special Sunflower*2]
Kaito thought he could handle any absurd mission the system threw at him, but this was beyond his expectations.
Holding his breath, he quickly leaned against a nearby wall, bracing himself with one hand while taking deep, steadying breaths.
Alright, alright...
Plants vs. Zombies, is it?
The mission reward's description was sparse, but Kaito could guess these special sunflowers could collect sunlight.
As for their purpose...
He'd probably need to complete the mission first and experiment to find out.
At this point, he'd given up hoping for any normal missions from this system...
Exhausting.
At the flower shop entrance, Ino watering the plants glanced at the boy nearby and found herself unable to look away.
She stared so intently that she forgot she was still watering the potted plants.The water from the watering can soaked the entire potted plant, and the muddy overflow drenched Ino's shoes.
"Your flowers are dying."
"Huh?!"
The unfamiliar voice startled Ino, making her yelp in surprise.
Her hand jerked uncontrollably, and though the watering can was nearly empty, a few stray droplets splashed onto Kaito's clothes.
Realizing what she had done, Ino's ears turned bright red at the sight of the boy's damp shirt.
She mentally scolded herself for her clumsiness, feeling both embarrassed and flustered.
"Customer!"
"I'm... so... sorry!"
"I... I really didn't mean to..."
Her voice trembled slightly as she frantically pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket, her mind blanking as she moved to wipe Kaito's wet clothes.
"I'll handle it myself."
Kaito's lips twitched as he first caught Ino's wrist, then took the handkerchief from her hand.
The gesture made Ino immediately lower her head in awkwardness, as if searching for a crack in the ground to disappear into.
Still, she mustered the courage to bow repeatedly while apologizing.
"Sorry... I'm really, really sorry."
Kaito wiped off the water stains and walked past Ino, heading straight for a pot of sunflowers in the corner.
"Do you have sunflowers?"
"I need a lot."
"It'd be even better if you could transplant them for me."
His system mission was to fill the backyard with sunflowers before nightfall. To be safe, Kaito decided to go with transplants.
After all...
He had finally stumbled upon a relatively normal task, and no matter what, he had to secure the rewards first.
Whether they'd be useful or not...
That could wait!
"Ino!!"
"What are you standing there for?!"
Just as Ino was about to respond, her mother, with her sharp business instincts, immediately noticed the big customer at the door.
The Uchiha clan crest...
A wealthy one at that!
Kaito turned his head toward the shop, where the owner—wearing an apron—pulled her daughter aside with a practiced motion.
Then, with a smile, she asked,
"Customer, may I ask... how many do you mean by 'a lot'?"
"The entire yard."
Rino Yamanaka's eyes widened slightly, inwardly marveling at how the Uchiha truly were a wealthy clan—even their flower-buying logic was different from normal people's.
"No problem at all. May I ask..."
"Just transplant them in the backyard before tonight."
Kaito cut in, then waved at Ino, who was hiding behind her mother, making a writing gesture.
Ino froze for a few seconds before hurriedly fishing out a pen and paper, timidly handing them to Kaito.
But as he wrote, she secretly lifted her head, her sharp eyes memorizing every word he penned...
This address...
Was the Uchiha clan head's home?!
As if uncovering a secret, Ino carefully took the note he handed her, tucking it away safely.
Even after he left, she stood at the door, staring at the boy's retreating figure.
"If you're so curious..."
"Why didn't you just ask for his name?"
Rino teased, standing beside her daughter and making Ino blush again.
"Ugh, stop it!"
"I... I can find out when I deliver the flowers later!"
Unable to meet her mother's gaze, Ino turned and hurried to the warehouse to arrange the delivery.
Meanwhile, the ANBU operatives hiding under the eaves silently pulled out pens and began recording everything on their scrolls.[August 28th, sunny. Uchiha clan leader's second son Kaito Uchiha visited Inoichi Yamanaka's flower shop to purchase a large quantity of sunflowers. Purpose unknown, significance unclear. Threat level: C]
Above this entry, Sasuke's movements were also recorded.
[August 28th, Sunny. Uchiha Sasuke, the third son of the Uchiha clan head, once again ran off to the Inuzuka clan's kennel, reportedly to learn the Dog Clone technique. After a week of observation, any connection between the Uchiha and Inuzuka clans has been ruled out... Conclusion: Uchiha Sasuke has a screw loose. Threat level: B]
The ANBU's surveillance of the two brothers began the day they coincidentally encountered the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. Whenever the two stepped out, ANBU operatives would follow and document their every move.
The result?
These ANBU assigned to monitoring duties were utterly exhausted.
From day one, the ANBU had been brimming with ambition, ready to uncover evidence of the Uchiha clan's rebellion.
But those two brats—one wandered aimlessly around Konoha all day, while the other kept running off to the dog kennels.
Their behavior was downright bizarre.
At first, the ANBU assigned to surveillance suspected the children were acting under Fugaku's orders, secretly plotting something major.
But after several days of observation, the ANBU began questioning their own sanity.
That Uchiha Kaito either loitered around the village or frequented bars, ramen stalls, and various shops, sometimes even getting agitated, his face red as he shouted things like...
"Hurry up and give me the mission!" "NPC, hand over the quest already!" "Immortality Cultivation Mission, activate!"
And other similarly incomprehensible nonsense.
As for Uchiha Sasuke...
He spent all his time obsessing over dog-related Ninjutsu, rushing to the Inuzuka kennels whenever he had a spare moment.
The ANBU operatives were at their wits' end.
You're an Uchiha!
Study the Sharingan or shuriken techniques!
What kind of lunatic spends all day at a dog kennel?!
In short.
After a full week of surveillance, every ANBU operative reached the same conclusion.
Fugaku's two sons...
Were completely deranged.
"Let's pull out. No point wasting time on Fugaku's two idiots."
"Time to report back."
The ANBU squad leader sighed and gave the order. The other operatives vanished from the rooftops in an instant.
That afternoon.
Ino, with the help of some assistants, arrived at the Uchiha compound's front gate carrying a large quantity of sunflowers.
She stood at the entrance for a long time, staring at the door handle, before finally mustering the courage to knock lightly.
"Anyone home?"
Perhaps her knocks were too soft, or her voice too quiet, but after ten full minutes, there was still no response from inside.
Ino glanced back at the tightly shut gate, then at the pile of sunflowers.
She suddenly felt at a loss.
Just as she was about to retreat and seek her mother's help, a commotion erupted from around the street corner.
"Kaito! Let me go!!"
"I'm almost done mastering that technique!!"
....