"Shut your mouths first!"
Kaito growled under his breath.
He wasn't worried about his family discovering these two bizarre-looking sunflowers—he could even pass them off as summoned creatures if needed.
The main issue was...
These things hanging on his shoulders were not just abstract but downright embarrassing.
If Sasuke saw them, he'd never hear the end of it.
"Snow Leopard, shut up!"
"Shut up, shut up!"
The two sunflowers seemed utterly incapable of understanding human speech, yet their mouths spewed all sorts of nonsense that made Kaito want to facepalm.
In the end, Kaito simply yanked two freshly transplanted sunflowers from the garden and stuffed them into the creatures' mouths.
This move instantly silenced the long-faced sunflower. Feeling the presence of its own kind in its mouth, it stared at Kaito with terror, no longer daring to provoke this cruel human.
Kaito sat cross-legged on the ground, closing his eyes to sense any changes in his body.
Since these weird sunflowers could grow on him...
He refused to believe there weren't any side effects.
After about ten minutes...
Kaito suddenly noticed a subtle shift in his chakra refinement.
"Huh?"
"My chakra... is refining... faster?"
The chakra in his body was regenerating roughly 10% faster than usual.
The boost wasn't huge, but even when he stopped actively refining chakra, the effect persisted.
In short...
These two sunflowers seemed to passively restore a small amount of MP (chakra).
"Sunflowers, huh..."
Kaito shot a disdainful glance at the two on his shoulders before looking up at the starry sky.
"Maybe they'll have other effects during the day."
These plants were probably inspired by Plants vs. Zombies, but given how absurd his system was...
Expecting them to spit out suns was unrealistic—and honestly, terrifying if they actually could.
Considering their passive chakra recovery, Kaito guessed their abilities might be stronger in daylight.
"Kaito—"
"Who are you talking to outside?"
"Come wash your hands and eat dinner."
His mother's voice called from inside, startling him. He quickly retracted the two strange sunflowers from his shoulders.
"Coming!"
Kaito shouted back before rushing to the bathroom to wash up.
By the time he sat down at the dining table, the expressions of his father and Sasuke, seated on either side of him, were grim.
Only his mother, Mikoto, kept piling food onto his plate, insisting he needed to eat more to grow.
She paid no attention to Sasuke and Fugaku, who were silently shoveling rice into their mouths.
The two glanced at Kaito's overflowing bowl, then down at their own rice-filled ones.
Their faces darkened further.
"I'm done!"
"Me too!"
Neither had any appetite left. After finishing their rice, they stormed off to their rooms.
Mikoto clicked her tongue in mild annoyance at the father-son duo.
"Honestly."
"Those two are so hard to please."
Then, turning back with a smile, she continued serving Kaito.
"Eat up. Don't mind your father and brother."
Kaito's face twisted in discomfort as he forced out, "Mom... stop. I really can't eat anymore."
As much as he hated rejecting her kindness, he felt like he was about to burst.
One more bite, and he'd vomit right there."Oh, by the way."
"Kaito, what did you think of that girl today? Did you two become good friends?"
A woman's curiosity for gossip seems almost innate. When Mikoto asked Kaito about this, her eyes sparkled with the flames of nosiness.
She looked quite like a young girl gossiping about others' romantic affairs.
Except she was gossiping about her own son.
"Not bad." Kaito pushed some food from his bowl into his mother's, inexplicably picturing Ino as an adult in his mind before adding,
"Yeah."
"She's quite a cute little girl."
Mikoto smiled, not wanting to embarrass her son further, so she stopped teasing him. Instead, she turned to pick up two envelopes from the living room and placed them in front of Kaito.
"Admission notices."
"In three days, you and Sasuke will start school."
Kaito's hand froze mid-motion. He looked up at his mother with a complicated expression before nodding.
"Alright, I understand."
His mood seemed low as he picked up the ninja academy admission notice from the table and retreated to his room.
Starting school...
For him, this might not be a good thing at all.
It meant the Uchiha clan massacre wasn't far away...
Mikoto naturally noticed Kaito's unusual reaction. Scratching her head in confusion, she muttered,
"How strange."
"Isn't he happy about going to school?"
The Yamanaka girl was around the same age as her two sons. Not knowing whether they'd be placed in the same class, Mikoto had specifically pulled some strings to ensure Kaito and Ino could be together.
Yet she never expected Kaito to react this way upon hearing about school...
That night, Kaito told Sasuke about starting school, but the boy just scowled, snatched the admission notice, and sulked in Itachi's room.
The next morning.
During his training, Kaito heard noises from the living room and immediately stopped to rush out of his room.
He knew Itachi must have returned from a mission.
"Hmm? Kaito, you're up so early today?"
Itachi, munching on bread in the living room, turned in surprise to see Kaito already dressed neatly.
Normally when he returned at this hour, Kaito would either still be asleep or passing through the living room in pajamas.
It was truly unusual for his sleep-loving younger brother to be up this early.
Of course, Kaito wouldn't tell him he'd spent the whole night refining chakra with two sunflowers on his head.
He quickly approached Itachi and began his daily interrogation.
"Itachi!"
"I want to ask you..."
Hearing his name, Itachi had almost been conditioned to respond instinctively.
This time, without waiting for Kaito to finish, he directly gave the preemptive answer.
"I choose both you and Sasuke!"
"You both live! You both live!"
Kaito: "..."
Itachi's response momentarily left Kaito speechless.
"No fun."
Kaito pursed his lips and said nothing more, walking past Itachi to grab a carton of milk from the kitchen fridge.
"Is Father not home?"
The house seemed unusually quiet today. Sasuke was still asleep, and at this hour, his parents should have been up already.
Itachi fell silent for a moment before answering truthfully when he saw Kaito's questioning look.
"He went to a clan meeting."
"Why aren't you there?"
Kaito's question struck a chord with Itachi, who forced a smile. "I came back to see you and Sasuke."
"By the way, I have more free time these days. I can train with you both."
"And even take you to school."
Itachi was always gentle with his younger brothers, as if seeing them could dispel all worries in his heart.
"I have plans today."Kaito stood at the door, putting on his shoes, and decisively rejected Itachi's proposal.
The disappointment on Itachi's face was evident, his earlier anticipation completely dashed.
"By the way, don't keep running home all the time when you're free."
"You promised me you'd protect Shisui properly."
Kaito had a nagging feeling that Shisui's days were numbered lately. The best he could do now was make sure Itachi kept a close eye on him to prevent any accidents.
His reason for leaving now was to prepare a shadow clone hidden by the Naka River, along with bringing a few dogs.
Oh, and some antidotes.
Itachi had thought his little brother had changed his mind, only to be disappointed again.
"I will."
Sometimes, in front of Kaito, Itachi even had the strange illusion that the younger one was actually the elder brother.
He sighed and continued,
"Please take care of Sasuke for me."
...