Whoosh—
The moment the puppet dog was tossed out the window, Kaito, standing by the window, vanished into thin air. In the blink of an eye, their positions had swapped.
"It worked!"
Kaito flipped midair, landing gracefully as he took in the scenery around him, his heart swelling with triumph.
But his joy lasted all of three seconds.
Because...
The Soul pet seemed to hold a grudge over being thrown out like that.
Whether it was his imagination or not, the moment the system task popped up, the puppet dog seemed to develop a mind of its own.
Now, any misbehavior caused the task progress to plummet.
[Task Progress: 10%]
"Alright, alright..."
"You're the best, Runtu!"
Kaito stood outside the window, showering the Soul pet with praise for three solid minutes before its mood improved and the task progress stopped dropping.
However, his antics had thoroughly annoyed Sasuke, who had just settled down to sleep.
"Uchiha Kaito!!"
"What the hell are you doing in the middle of the night?!"
Sasuke flung open the window, clutching two light bulbs, their blinding glow accompanying his furious shouting at Kaito in the yard.
Kaito pressed his lips together, his eye twitching.
If anyone was acting crazy...
What kind of person sleeps hugging light bulbs, glowing and radiating heat all night?
Kaito conceded defeat, shaking his head as he returned to his room to soothe the Soul pet before lying down to rest.
I wonder...
Did that blind fool Shisui leave the village tonight?
Kaito touched the scroll on his chest and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning.
The noise from the living room jolted both brothers awake.
Thinking Itachi had returned, Sasuke dashed out with a loud "thud thud thud," while Kaito dragged his Soul pet out of the room.
"Good morning, Sasuke, Kaito."
Mikoto, in the kitchen, greeted her sons with a smile, her eyes crinkling.
Fugaku sat at the dining table, lost in thought, his expression heavy.
"Good morning, Mom and Dad."
Sasuke's face fell when he realized his brother wasn't there, disappointment flickering across his features before he turned to go change.After greeting everyone, Kaito led his Soul pet by the hand and plopped down beside Fugaku. He leaned his small head closer and whispered probing questions in a hushed tone.
"Father, last night..."
"Did something big happen in the village? I noticed... there were a lot of Anbu on the streets yesterday."
His son's words interrupted Fugaku's contemplation. He shifted slightly, frowning as he glanced at the boy.
"If you need pocket money, just ask me."
"Stop picking up trash for no reason."
Kaito: ?
Ever since the two brothers had rushed into the living room earlier, Fugaku had noticed the scrap Kaito was dragging along. These past few days had already been stressful enough with Shisui's disappearance.
Now, seeing this troublesome kid bringing trash to the table first thing in the morning only added to his irritation.
"This is my new partner!!"
Worried about his mission progress, Kaito practically gritted his teeth as he corrected Fugaku word by word.
And besides...
Pocket money or not...
Even if Fugaku didn't give him any, it wasn't like he didn't have other sources.
The old man's expression twisted, the corners of his eyes wrinkling so hard it looked like he might squeeze out sleep crust.
Ignoring his father's pained look, Kaito reached out and patted Runtu's head, never forgetting to boost his mission progress.
"This is Uchiha Runtu, my partner from now on."
"Uchiha... the hope of the future."
Kaito spoke with utmost seriousness, leaving Fugaku both silent and sighing.
The hope of Uchiha's future...
Fugaku could only feel that the future of the Uchiha was already too bleak to see.
After a long pause—perhaps afraid he might faint from frustration—Fugaku quickly changed the subject.
"Stay home and behave recently. Other than school and home..."
"Don't go anywhere else."
As soon as he finished speaking, Fugaku stood up, pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and headed for the door.
Right now...
He just needed to relieve some stress.
"I'll be busy. Your mother and I might not be back for a few days."
"You two... brothers..."
"Take care of yourselves."
Though reluctant to admit it, Fugaku knew the future of the Uchiha rested on these two sons of his.
Their clan had no way out anymore.
After preparing breakfast, Mikoto watched the two brothers eat with gentle eyes before leaving the house as well. Before going, she gave each of them a hug.
"Kaito... have you noticed that Mom and Dad have been acting a little strange lately?"
Sasuke stood at the doorway, staring blankly outside as he muttered those words.
The statement shocked Kaito on the spot.
Wait...
Had his foolish little brother finally noticed?
While marveling inwardly, Kaito opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for how to explain it to the kid.
After all...
Telling him about the impending Uchiha massacre would only cause unnecessary worry.
"I know!" Sasuke suddenly declared. "It's because you keep stealing Dad's secret stash!"
"He found out!"
Kaito: "..."
Sasuke's unexpected accusation made Kaito facepalm instantly.
Alright, fine.
My mistake for overestimating this kid.
After a long silence, he finally muttered, "Don't act so righteous. It's not like I didn't share the money with you."
Sasuke flushed red, his neck stiff as he shouted, "You liar! Out of 100,000 ryo, you only gave me 1,000!"
The memory of Kaito smashing his piggy bank made Sasuke clench his fists in fury.
"You jerk!"
Once their bickering ended, Kaito called out to Sasuke, who was about to leave for school, and the two began their training in the inner courtyard.For three consecutive days, they hadn't stepped outside their home.
Sasuke spent every moment training his Lightning Release with lightbulbs, while Kaito devoted himself to caring for his Soul Pet—Uchiha Runtu.
That afternoon, after exhausting his supply of lightbulbs and preparing to train his Sharingan, Sasuke glanced over and saw his foolish little brother still chatting with that scrap heap. The sight stirred a brotherly urge to motivate him.
"Kaito, blow in my eyes for me."
"Got sand in them."
Sasuke widened his single-tomoe Sharingan, blinking rapidly as he trotted over to Kaito, putting on quite the convincing act.
Except...
Kaito noticed the kid's smirk never left his face.
"Go wash them in the bathroom yourself."
Hugging his Soul Pet, Kaito turned his back on Sasuke and resumed talking to it, completely indifferent.
It seemed that, compared to Sasuke, he cared more about the Puppet in his hands.
[Quest Progress: 99%]
With the quest nearly complete, Kaito had zero interest in humoring Sasuke.
Right now, all he wanted was to quickly finish crafting the Enlightenment Pill and see if it could help Sasuke—maybe patch up his brain and boost his IQ.
Of course, it'd be even better if the Puppet could eat it too.
Seeing that Kaito was ignoring him, Sasuke finally lost his temper.
"Uchiha Kaito! Can you put down that stupid—Runtu for a second?!"
"Do you think hugging a Puppet all day will make you stronger?!"
"As Uchiha... our greatest power lies in the Sharingan!"
Kaito smirked disdainfully, giving Sasuke a meaningful three-second stare before replying, "You don't understand. This is the future of our Uchiha clan."
Sasuke: "..."
Hearing that, Sasuke's face twisted in frustration. Sometimes, he wondered if Kaito talked to him like this...
just to piss him off enough to awaken his Sharingan.
And the moment Kaito finished speaking, the system notification popped up.
[Ding—]
[System Quest Complete. Reward: Enlightenment Pill (Hellhound Special Flavor).]
...