The Plan Went Smoothly (Please Vote for Recommendations!)

The Plan Went Smoothly (Please Vote for Recommendations!)

Once he had the inspiration, he had to confirm all the basic conditions for completing the mission as quickly as possible!

So, without even having time to go home, Aoba tucked away the month's relief money that Jonin Mikawa had left him before departing and hurried back in a panic.

First, he found a shop that sold dyes and spent quite some time discussing things with the owner. In the end, he happily finalized his first deal. Then he bought strong glue, fabric, and other odds and ends before hanging everything messily from his body and returning home.

After he got home, before he could even catch his breath, his stomach began to growl.

Only then did he remember that after keeping busy all day, he hadn't even eaten!

He had no choice but to put the things away first, go out for a ready-made meal, and then stock up on quite a bit of food.

After finishing all that, he took out the miscellaneous things he had bought earlier and began frantically tinkering...

The next day, after eating breakfast and stretching his limbs, Aoba headed straight for the place where Old Man Yamashita worked.

Not far from Hokage Rock stood a residence specifically used by the craftsmen to store their tools and rest temporarily.

Sure enough, Old Man Yamashita was sitting inside, drinking tea and relaxing.

Small matters like final inspections no longer required the head craftsman to handle them personally. Other craftsmen would carefully and responsibly inspect everything one by one.

Of course, if any problems really did appear and something needed to be redone, he would naturally be the first to step up!

"Grandpa Yamashita, I came to see you."

"Oh, it's little Aoba! Come sit down and have some tea. This is the good stuff Lord Hokage awarded me. You're really lucky to get a taste!"

When Old Man Yamashita saw that Aoba had actually come to visit him, he froze for a moment before greeting him happily.

People his age all liked liveliness, and they especially liked children. It was as if seeing those tender young shoots allowed them to see their former selves.

Aoba wasn't reserved either. There was no need to be overly polite. When spending time with an elderly person, it was better to act naturally, and the more casual he was, the happier the old man became.

In short, there was only one rule: eat when told to eat, drink when told to drink, and patiently go along with whatever the other person said. It worked every time!

Sure enough, the more Old Man Yamashita looked at Aoba, the more he liked him. He not only brought out plenty of tasty food to entertain him, but also opened the floodgates and began bragging about his past experiences.

Aoba wasn't in a hurry to state his purpose right away. He patiently chatted with the old man, spending most of his time as a quiet listener...or a quiet glutton.

Soon, an hour passed.

Aoba felt the time was about right. So, while Old Man Yamashita had grown tired from talking and was drinking tea to soothe his thirst, he put on an admiring expression, expressed his interest in carving, and asked to learn some techniques.

Having completely worked himself into a frenzy, Yamashita thought nothing of it. Instead, his face flushed with excitement as he gave Aoba an approving look. He then enthusiastically brought over several stones he usually used for practice, along with a complete set of tools, preparing to give him a proper lesson.

After all, it was rare for him to meet a child interested in his craft. Besides, he found Aoba very pleasing to the eye, so he naturally didn't mind playing the role of teacher for once.

If Aoba showed any talent for carving, he even wanted to take the boy on as a disciple and train him properly.

And so, one taught earnestly while the other learned earnestly.

Before long, Aoba grasped some of the basic tricks and became a beginner. Under Old Man Yamashita's guidance, he even carved a small figure that looked fairly convincing—though its features were completely mangled and almost unbearable to look at...

"It's all right. Diligence can make up for a lack of talent. Practice more and you'll improve. For a beginner, you've already done very well."

Seeing that Aoba looked somewhat dejected, Old Man Yamashita couldn't help comforting him gently.

At the same time, the old man sighed inwardly. It was rare to find such a good child genuinely interested in carving. It was just a pity that the boy's talent was truly mediocre.

Although he felt regretful, the old man dismissed the thought of taking him on as a disciple.

"Grandpa Yamashita, could you lend me some tools? I want to try a few more times after I get home." Aoba, who had quickly recovered from his "dejection," spoke with a stubborn expression.

Seeing this, Old Man Yamashita nodded in gratification and readily agreed.

"No problem. I have plenty of tools here. I'll put together a set for you in a moment. Take it home when you leave, and remember to practice properly."

"Thank you, Grandpa Yamashita. Um..."

"If you have any other questions, ask them all at once."

Thus, under Old Man Yamashita's encouraging gaze, Aoba looked yearningly ahead and spoke somewhat bashfully. "Can I go up to Hokage Rock over the next few days and see how everyone works?"

Old Man Yamashita froze for a moment, apparently not expecting Aoba to make such a request.

It wouldn't be troublesome, but what if something unexpected happened...

"The carving work is already finished. Even if you went up there now, you wouldn't see anything. Besides, the biggest taboo in our line of work is aiming too high without a proper foundation. Wait until you've built up your basics before coming to observe a large-scale carving like that," Old Man Yamashita advised earnestly.

"I'm not aiming too high... I just want to broaden my horizons. One day, I'll personally carve my own likeness up there. Even Lord Hokage has acknowledged that I'm the future Fifth Hokage!"

Suppressing the urge to vomit, Aoba spoke with great excitement, his little face flushed bright red.

Of course, it might also have been because he was embarrassed...

He was going through all this just to complete that damn system's mission!

Still, this melodramatic declaration had the desired effect. At the very least, the way Old Man Yamashita looked at him changed.

Old Man Yamashita pondered seriously for a while before slowly saying, "It's not impossible for me to agree... But we'll have three rules. You must follow the rules and listen. Do whatever you're told, and never touch anything you're not allowed to touch. If you can do that, I can let you go up."

Success!

Aoba restrained his excitement and nodded vigorously.

So far, everything had gone very smoothly!

Not only had he learned the basics of carving and obtained the carving tools, but he had also successfully planted the idea that he wanted to personally carve his own likeness on Hokage Rock. Once the mission succeeded, Old Man Yamashita's testimony would be very important and could greatly reduce the pressure on him.

Finally, he had successfully persuaded Old Man Yamashita to let him climb Hokage Rock openly.

With this identity to act as cover, the mission's success rate had increased dramatically!

Combined with the preparations he had made earlier...

Aoba's eyes flickered. He seemed to have already seen victory waving at him.

Of course, he couldn't celebrate too soon, much less act rashly. He would honestly keep up the act for two days first and let everyone get used to his presence.

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