Chapter 67: Weeding the Garden
Renjiro laughed at the genin's shocked reactions. He thought with amusement,
"It's unfortunate that Tora the cat isn't currently lost right now."
He retrieved the mission document, checked the address, and announced,
"Follow me."
The genin followed him, but this time, Mieko and Hodaka moved extremely slowly with obvious reluctance.
Upon reaching the estate, Renjiro had the gate guard summon the client.
Kaito observed the estate and found it to be absolutely enormous!
Mieko and Hodaka didn't react with particular surprise, since their clan compounds were even larger.
Several minutes later, an elegant woman arrived. She appeared around 40-45 years old, approximately 1.7 meters tall, with long flowing hair styled gracefully, looking extremely refined and sophisticated in her bearing.
She greeted them politely.
"Welcome, Renjiro-san. It is an honor to have you here."
Renjiro nodded and handed her the mission document. She then regarded the children and said sweetly,
"So these powerful young shinobi will complete my assignment. I am fortunate to find such capable ninja as yourselves."
Upon hearing this praise, Mieko and Hodaka both felt slightly pleased despite their disappointment.
However, Kaito immediately recognized that she was subtly mocking them. He sighed internally,
"This mission doesn't genuinely require shinobi at all. The only reason she's requesting ninja for this is her own entertainment. These wealthy bored ladies really need to find better hobbies."
She continued graciously,
"Follow me, I'll escort you to the garden."
Team 3 followed behind her. They proceeded behind the enormous mansion.
Soon, all three genin were shocked speechless. The client announced kindly,
"This is the garden where you'll be removing weeds."
Kaito was utterly speechless. He thought incredulously,
"A garden? Is this seriously called a garden? Whose garden spans several acres in size?"
Hodaka muttered in disbelief,
"This is supposed to be a garden?"
Mieko was about to explode with anger, shouting,
"How can this possibly be called a garden? This is..."
However, she was stopped by Renjiro's firm hand on her shoulder. The client immediately looked disappointed and said wistfully,
"Actually, I originally wanted at least several dozen acres, but unfortunately, Konoha doesn't have that much available land anymore."
This statement once again left the genin completely speechless. Mieko became even more furious. Renjiro simply smiled and ordered,
"Enough complaints. Get to work."
The genin began walking forward reluctantly. Mieko quietly asked Kaito,
"Hey, can we just use Fire Release: Dragon and Wind Release: Dragon to burn it all?"
Hodaka's spirits lifted immediately upon hearing this suggestion. Kaito also found the idea tempting, although he certainly wouldn't actually attempt it. However, Renjiro overheard and loudly announced,
"Absolutely no ninjutsu, no tools whatsoever. And increase your training seal pressure: Mieko increase by 1%, Kaito increase by 2.5%, Hodaka increase by 5%."
Mieko lowered her head dejectedly and trudged forward. Kaito suggested practically,
"Let's divide the garden into three equal sections, and each of us will clear one area."
Hodaka and Mieko nodded helplessly and began working.
Their muscles remained extremely sore from the morning's brutal training session. But now there was substantially more physical labor to complete under increased weight.
While they labored, the client returned to her mansion.
She walked onto the balcony overlooking the garden and had a servant prepare a comfortable chair, a sun umbrella, and various snacks for herself and Renjiro.
She sat there casually supervising the children's grueling work. This further irritated the genin considerably. Kaito muttered under his breath,
"First Hiruzen, now this woman. The shamelessness in this world is truly extraordinary!"
The weeding continued relentlessly. Kaito completed his designated section in an hour and a half.
He then prepared to return to Renjiro's location. As he departed the garden, Hodaka and Mieko both glared at him with obviously angry eyes. He thought briefly,
"Should I help them finish?"
A few seconds later, he dismissed that thought entirely.
"No, there's absolutely no need."
He ignored their hostile stares and departed the garden area.
He located a clean spot to sit and rest. Unfortunately, Renjiro immediately flickered behind him and ordered,
"Run laps around this entire estate until they finish. Minimum one lap per minute."
This command almost broke Kaito's spirit, and he thought bitterly,
"What the hell? It's not my fault I completed the work efficiently!"
However, he endured it silently, lowered his head in acceptance, and began running. Each lap measured over a kilometer.
Fifteen minutes later, Hodaka finished and joined him running. Mieko continued working for another full half hour.
Kaito and Hodaka were both absolutely convinced she was deliberately stalling, and they glared at her repeatedly.
When she finally finished, Kaito and Hodaka stopped after completing their current lap and glared furiously at Mieko. Mieko giggled smugly, thinking,
"You finished before me, so you deserved that punishment."
That satisfied smile infuriated Hodaka, but Kaito simply sighed and remarked,
"I didn't expect that a powerful Uchiha would require two hours and fifteen minutes just to weed a simple garden."
Hodaka nodded eagerly in agreement, adding,
"Yes, quite unexpected indeed. Is this what she meant by 'I'll demonstrate the strength of the Uchiha clan'?"
These pointed comments made Mieko's face flush with both anger and embarrassment.
She was about to respond furiously when Renjiro stopped her intervention.
The client approached and said sweetly,
"Thank you for clearing the weeds from my garden, young shinobi. You performed admirably."
This earned her hostile glares from all three genin simultaneously, but she maintained her pleasant smile.
She then handed Renjiro a signed completion document, and they departed her estate.
They returned to the Administration Building. Renjiro escorted his genin to a specific room on the first floor.
He submitted the completion document to an employee there. The employee verified the document, stamped it officially, and filed it in the archives.
He then provided Renjiro with a sealed payment envelope, and they departed that room.
Renjiro led them to another administrative room. Several employees were working there.
One of them was a chunin, the others were civilian administrators. Renjiro explained,
"Remember this mission assignment room. In the future, if you wish to accept additional missions independently, you can come here and consult with the chunin coordinator. He will assign missions based on your preferences, past performance record, and current rank."
The genin nodded in understanding.
They then returned to the first-floor lobby. Renjiro announced,
"That concludes today's activities. In the future, we'll perform one mission each week, and the rest of your training will continue normally. Kaito, you won't need to attend afternoon kenjutsu training on mission days."
Kaito nodded gratefully. Renjiro then retrieved the payment envelope he'd received earlier. He explained,
"This contains our mission compensation. We'll distribute it using a 40-20-20-20 split: I receive 40%, and you each receive 20%. Please remember, when performing missions with other teams in the future, payment is typically distributed this way, with the team leader receiving a larger portion than other members."
The genin all nodded, but all three shared the identical thought:
"But sensei, you didn't do any actual work at all!"
However, none dared voice this complaint aloud. After the payment was distributed, the squad disbanded for the day.
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