Taking Care of a Child

"Could the water droplet make the Heavenly Book create something out of nothing and produce the divine abilities or techniques I wanted?"

Uchiha Aozora could not help but let his imagination run wild, but he soon reined in his thoughts.

"Right now, the most urgent thing is to figure out what the water droplet is and how to obtain more of them."

He carefully recalled his recent actions and compared them to the past twelve years since he had crossed into the Shinobi World.

"Nothing changed about my food, clothing, housing, or travel. The only difference was the mission."

"The water droplet appeared after I finished harvesting rice. Could harvesting rice produce water droplets?"

The moment the thought arose, Uchiha Aozora dismissed it himself.

"The Wordless Heavenly Scripture is such a high-end thing. How could harvesting rice possibly make it change?"

"What else was there? Hmm, it seemed like the water droplet appeared after the old man thanked me."

"So the water droplet was the old man's 'gratitude'? Merit, or Wish Power?"

Uchiha Aozora thought it over and noted down the guess.

He felt that this guess was quite plausible. Whatever the Wordless Heavenly Scripture could absorb was surely no ordinary thing.

If it was merit or Wish Power, that would fit the Heavenly Book's style perfectly.

After thinking for half a day without getting anywhere, Uchiha Aozora decided to set the matter aside for now and take on a few more missions to observe.

The next day, Uchiha Aozora eagerly headed for the Hokage Building.

When Aburame Shibi saw the energetic Uchiha Aozora and Inuzuka Aya, he was somewhat surprised. "Ha, young people really do have great bodies. I was planning to pick an easy mission for you, but it looks like that won't be necessary."

Uchiha Aozora did not mind, but Inuzuka Aya hurriedly stopped him. "Teacher, no! My back hurts."

As she spoke, she bent over and clutched her stomach, crying, "Ow, ow."

How could Aburame Shibi possibly be fooled by her exaggerated acting? "Isn't that a stomachache?"

Hearing this, Inuzuka Aya was not embarrassed in the slightest. She simply changed poses and continued moaning.

Aburame Shibi shook his head. "Stop acting. We'll take an easier mission today."

With that, he went to line up.

The three companions chatted off to the side.

Uchiha Aozora first offered Inuzuka Aya some pointers on her acting. "Idiot, at least be more professional when you act."

"When your back hurts, you usually support your lower back with one hand while leaning against something. And you don't need to make such loud noises. A soft groan is enough."

Inuzuka Aya questioned him instead. "You know that much? Do you get backaches often?"

Facing Aya's wide, questioning eyes, Uchiha Aozora put on a cold expression, tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle toward the ceiling, and ignored her.

Seeing that Aozora was ignoring her, Aya took out a scroll. "Oh my, whose scroll was this that I owed?"

"Boring!"

After saying that, Uchiha Aozora swiftly reached out with his right hand and snatched the scroll in an instant.

With the scroll in hand, Aozora opened it and began reading.

Aya, meanwhile, took credit from the side and said smugly, "Ha, didn't expect that, did you? I didn't just give you some ordinary junk to fob you off with."

Aozora nodded. Indeed, although the Ninjutsu Scrolls Aya had provided were C-Rank, their rarity was no lower than that of ordinary B-Rank ninjutsu.

The scroll recorded a rare Sound-Illusion Technique—Howling Moon.

Although learning genjutsu was not yet on his schedule, Aozora had already checked the scrolls his elder brother Shisui had left him. There was no similar genjutsu among them.

After skimming through it, Uchiha Aozora put away the scroll. "This scroll is very valuable. Thanks!"

A verbal thank-you alone was not enough. Aozora planned to compensate her later.

Aya rubbed her head and laughed. "It's fine. This ninjutsu has been sitting at home for years anyway. No one ever managed to learn it."

"Aozora, you're from the Uchiha Clan. You should have a pretty good talent for genjutsu, so it'll be easier for you to learn."

"Not necessarily. We're more proficient with visual and mental genjutsu..."

After they chatted for a while, Aburame Shibi returned with the mission.

He first took out a stack of bills, then gave ten to each person, each worth one hundred ryo.

"This is the reward for the first mission. Congratulations on earning your first paycheck."

The three of them beamed as they received their pay, unable to stop themselves from silently planning how to spend this "huge sum" in their hearts.

After letting them celebrate for a while, Aburame Shibi tossed the number tag to Gekko Hayate.

Uchiha Aozora guessed that next time, he would probably be the one going to collect the mission scroll.

Before long, Gekko Hayate brought back the mission scroll.

Unlike Inuzuka Aya, he wore no expression.

Inuzuka Aya and Uchiha Aozora stepped forward and opened the mission scroll together.

The mission made Uchiha Aozora feel miserable.

This mission was much simpler than the first one. The client was a Single Mother.

This Single Mother was a Merchant. She had business to discuss in a Neighboring Village this time, so she had posted a mission to hire shinobi to look after her child for four days.

When they saw the mission, the two grown men, Uchiha Aozora and Gekko Hayate, had not said anything yet, but Inuzuka Aya exploded in anger. "Teacher, we're shinobi, not housemaids!"

Uchiha Aozora glanced at Inuzuka Aya's flat figure and thought, Even if you wanted to be one, you don't have the assets for it.

Aburame Shibi paid no attention to this, letting Inuzuka Aya unleash her "F-Rank Water Release" attack as he led them straight to the client's house.

Along the way, in order to better complete the mission, Uchiha Aozora specifically bought some toys and snacks that Konoha children liked.

The client's home was located in the Second Ring of Konoha. It had its own gate and courtyard, clearly showing that the female Merchant was quite wealthy.

When they opened the door, they were greeted by a Beautiful Woman with an imposing presence.

Even dressed in a Kimono, she appeared exceptionally sharp. One could only imagine how intimidating her aura would be in business attire.

Seeing the four of them, she said in surprise, "Lord Shibi, I didn't expect you to take this mission."

Aburame Shibi said, "Not me. These children did."

Uchiha's gaze shifted between the two of them a few times, making it clear that they knew each other.

The woman nodded, then stepped aside and invited everyone in.

In the living room, Uchiha Aozora's group met the target of this mission: a three- or four-year-old boy. He wore beautiful clothes and seemed quiet and well-behaved.

The Beautiful Woman introduced him. "This is Hikari, your target for the next three days. An auntie will prepare the meals. You only need to play with him and make sure he doesn't get hurt. Hikari is a very good boy. You'll get along well."

After the introduction, she beckoned. "Hikari, come here."

The little boy obediently ran over and stood quietly at her side.

"Hikari, these three older brothers and sister are shinobi. They'll play with you for the next three days, okay?"

The little boy's eyes lit up at once, though he still nodded reservedly.

Uchiha Aozora and the other two exchanged glances, each seeing relief in the others' eyes.

After the client finished explaining things, she went back to her room to pack. Before long, she set off for the Neighboring Village.

Uchiha Aozora quickly took out the little toy, intending to give the boy a gift upon meeting him.

"Hikari, this is a pinwheel from Brother Aozora!"