Just then, a line of text suddenly appeared in Hatake Sora's mind:
Beginner Quest (Stage Quest): Escape the Trash Can
Quest Description:Because the heartless shop owner, Tsuruta, abandoned you—a helpless infant—inside a trash can, the nights here are bitterly cold. If you don't want to freeze to death, you'd better escape the trash can within three hours!
Quest Reward: Kunai Throwing (Beginner)Time Limit: Three hours
Escape the trash can within three hours!
It sounded simple enough, but after carefully observing his surroundings, Hatake Sora quickly realized the reality of the situation.
This trash can was enormous—nearly two meters long and one meter high. Its interior walls were smooth and slick, with not a single foothold. For someone not even half a meter tall, it was nothing short of a prison.
"Tsuruta, huh…"
Hatake Sora lowered his body and began searching through the trash can, hoping to find something—anything—that might help.
"This is really quite a challenge you've set for me."
After rummaging around for a long while, the only thing he managed to find was a massive fish skeleton.
There was no need to even try…
Even adding the length of the fish bone to his own height, it still came up short of a meter.
"It looks like escaping on my own strength alone is impossible."
That was precisely why Tsuruta had felt so confident leaving him here and walking away without a second thought.
Hatake Sora casually tossed the fish skeleton aside, sat down, and began to think. Conserving his energy would allow him to survive longer.
"Since that's the case…"
He reached out and opened the wooden treasure chest inside the system.
He could only hope it would contain something that might help him escape.
Unfortunately, things rarely went according to one's wishes…
The wooden chest slowly opened, releasing a faint glow.
Lowest-Tier Noble Phantasm:(Automatically Recoverable Time-Space Kunai)
Character: Hatake SoraItem: Automatically Recoverable Time-Space Kunai(Sharper than an ordinary kunai and imbued with the mysterious ability to automatically return to its owner)Chakra: NoneNinjutsu: None
Hatake Sora gripped the kunai in his hand, its surface shimmering with a dark sheen, and let out a helpless sigh.
"It's a good item… but it doesn't really help in my current situation."
No matter how sharp the kunai was, his strength right now was pitiful. Using it to cut through thick iron plating was nothing more than a fantasy.
More importantly, as time passed…
Hatake Sora's limbs had grown so cold that he could barely summon any strength at all. Without realizing it, two hours had already passed.
"That means… if I can't escape in the remaining hour, I'll freeze to death!?"
At this point, Hatake Sora no longer cared whether he attracted Tsuruta's attention or not. He clenched his tiny fist and slammed it against the metal wall.
"Help! Someone—help me!"
In this situation, the only thing he could do was hope that someone would hear him and come to his rescue.
"Bang! Bang! Bang…!"
In the quiet alley, the sounds of impact coming from inside the trash can were dull and muffled. Hatake Sora tilted his head back, raised his arm, and struck the hard metal again and again.
More than half of the final hour had already slipped by, yet Hatake Sora felt that he might not even survive the full three hours.
Though he was doing his best to conserve energy, calling out for help was simply too exhausting.
"Someone… please…"
Hatake Sora felt the warmth in his chest slowly draining away.
The life of a one-year-old infant was unbearably fragile—like a pitiful stray cat.
Before long, he would freeze solid, then be hauled away by garbage collectors and thrown into a roaring furnace.
"Someone… save me…"
Using the very last of his strength, Hatake Sora desperately lifted his head and hurled his small body forward, slamming violently into the metal wall one final time…