In the end, Fugaku couldn't win against his wife and obediently paid the bill.What made him even more upset was...
That brat Kaito even said his thanks to his wife instead.
Not only had he been angered and physically hurt, but he also had to foot the bill...
Fugaku was furious. He wouldn't see that little bastard for the next few days.
The old father sulked as he turned and walked back into the house, making Mikoto find her husband somewhat amusing.
How could such a grown man act like a child, getting jealous over kids?
Mikoto watched her husband leave before turning her gaze to the three people transplanting sunflowers in the courtyard.
She didn't pay much attention to her younger son Sasuke. Right now, she couldn't help but smile like a doting aunt as she watched the young girl from the Yamanaka family and Kaito.
"Did you remember everything I said?"
Ino held a small gardening hoe while transplanting sunflowers, simultaneously explaining the techniques to Kaito.
When talking about something she was skilled at, her entire demeanor became more confident, and she no longer spoke as softly as before.
However, she still couldn't bring herself to look directly into Kaito's eyes.
"I remember."
Kaito nodded seriously, his peripheral vision catching the damp strands of hair on Ino's forehead. He suddenly recalled that he hadn't returned her handkerchief earlier.
He pulled the handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Ino, who was squatting on the ground. "How about taking a break?"
Seeing that there was still some time before sunset, they had already completed half the work in the courtyard with Ino's help.
Since they weren't in a hurry anyway, he might as well let her rest. He wasn't some heartless boss.
"Okay!" Ino froze for a few seconds upon seeing her handkerchief before accepting it, cradling it to her chest like a treasure.
She set down the gardening hoe, and Mikoto, who had been watching nearby, stepped forward to take it away, bringing out tea and snacks to treat their guest.
Seeing the blonde girl leave, Sasuke casually tossed his gardening hoe aside and plopped down on the ground.
Having used the Shadow Clone Technique earlier, he had expended quite a bit of chakra. Since he had just learned this jutsu and didn't want to lose face in front of that blonde girl, he had stubbornly maintained the clones until they reached their limit.
After the clones disappeared, the exhaustion he felt was even worse than his usual training in the kennel.
Kaito kept working, noticing Sasuke resting nearby, and immediately called out to remind him.
"Sasuke, hurry up. You're moving too slowly."
Uchiha Sasuke: ?
Hearing this, Sasuke was utterly stunned.
He didn't say anything, just raised his arm and pointed emphatically toward the house.
His furious expression clearly conveyed his sense of injustice.
That girl got to take a break...
Why couldn't he!?
"Hurry up."
"If you're already this tired just from using Shadow Clones..."
"How are you going to get stronger in the future?"
Kaito spoke very seriously, but Sasuke felt like he was being singled out.
Enough already...
It was just planting flowers with Shadow Clones. Why make it seem like some serious training?
He could just train properly tomorrow.
Normally, Sasuke might have argued with Kaito a bit before reluctantly lowering his head and continuing the work.
But today, for some reason, the sight of that blonde girl filled him with inexplicable anger.
"I quit!"
Sasuke coldly brushed the dirt off himself, shoved his hands in his pockets, and headed straight for the training grounds.
He didn't want to waste his time here.
Ino, sitting inside the house, had been keeping an eye on the situation outside the whole time. Her conversation with Mikoto was half-hearted at best.From time to time, she would glance down at her handkerchief.
When she noticed Kaito's younger brother throwing another tantrum, she immediately stood up and bowed to Aunt Mikoto.
"Auntie, I think I'll go help outside."
"Otherwise, if my mother finds out I was slacking off, she'll definitely scold me when I get home."
Mikoto smiled without speaking, sizing up the young girl before her until Ino's cheeks burned with embarrassment.
"Then... I'll head out first."
Ino fled in a fluster, only letting out a long sigh of relief once she reached the yard.
"Kaito, let me help!"
Sasuke: ?
Having only taken a few steps, Sasuke frowned impatiently upon hearing the blonde's voice and abruptly stopped in his tracks.
Kaito was busy transplanting sunflowers and hadn't paid Sasuke any mind earlier. After all, letting the boy take an occasional break wasn't too unreasonable.
With Ino joining in, their progress noticeably sped up.
"Hmm?"
"Sasuke, why are you back already?"
Kaito turned his head in surprise to find Sasuke working diligently behind him, his face scrunched up in a scowl.
Gone was the earlier attitude of refusing to work.
Sasuke ignored him, continuing to work with his head down.
However, his gaze kept drifting toward the blonde girl from time to time...
Kaito simply smiled at this. This naive younger brother was sometimes much more endearing than the Sasuke he remembered.
By evening, with the help of the three of them and Kaito's shadow clones, the task of planting sunflowers in the yard was successfully completed.
[Ding—]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the mission!]
[Reward: Special Sunflowers*2]
As the system's voice rang out, Kaito looked at the golden yard and finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"So beautiful..."
Ino stood among the sunflowers, lightly tiptoeing through the golden sea.
Her golden ponytail swayed as she moved, making her seem like a fish swimming joyfully through water.
After running around for a while, Ino suddenly turned to face Kaito.
"Nice to meet you!"
"My name is Ino Yamanaka. It's a pleasure to meet you today!"
Kaito, seeing the girl's bright smile and serious self-introduction, couldn't help but be infected by her enthusiasm, a smile forming on his own face.
"My name is Kaito Uchiha."
"Nice to meet you too."
Sasuke: ...
The two stood in the sea of flowers, smiling at each other, leaving Sasuke alone in a dark corner, grinding his teeth.
Are these two idiots?!
What the hell are you so happy about?!
After a tiring day, Sasuke felt no joy whatsoever—only an increasing dislike for that blonde girl.
With a dark expression, Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets and walked back to the house, head lowered.
At that moment, he had absolutely no desire to talk to Kaito.
And that included tomorrow!
Unaware of his brother's mood, Kaito escorted Ino home before immediately rushing back to the sunflower-filled yard to inspect his system reward.
Opening the system, he found a sunflower icon in his inventory, with the number "2" displayed in the corner.
It looked perfectly normal.
After glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, Kaito tapped the sunflower icon.
Whoosh—
The moment he tapped it, a golden light enveloped him.
The light faded after a few seconds, and as Kaito crouched on the ground, he suddenly felt his shoulders grow heavy.
Resting on his left and right shoulders were two sunflowers—but what made him lose his composure was...
The sunflowers had faces.
They were literally the sunflowers from Plants vs. Zombies!!!But... why is it growing on my shoulder??
Excuse me, are you trying to imitate Jiraiya or something?
Kaito turned his head and his gaze happened to meet Sunflower's. Immediately, two deep baritone voices rang in his ears...
"Jiangnan Leather Factory! Jiangnan Leather Factory has gone bankrupt!"
"Crazy Thursday! Show me what you got with 50 bucks!"