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Business concluded.
The matter of the broken door next door still needed to be addressed.
Rokuro put on an embarrassed expression, lowered his head, and mumbled, "Um, Lord Okamoto, this morning I accidentally broke the door to the room next to mine. Could you please have someone fix it?"
Okamoto was taken aback. He looked at Rokuro in confusion. "Did you go bother Nikō next door?"
Rokuro nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to go over and say hi, but I realized no one was there!"
Okamoto's face darkened.
He suddenly realized that a door wouldn't break that easily.
Rokuro probably broke it on purpose.
His face twitched slightly as he asked, "Did he refuse to open the door, so you broke it down on purpose?"
Huh?
Rokuro froze.
He hadn't actually thought about it that way.
But now that he thought about it, it seemed the System had done it on purpose.
The three Random Quests he had received so far were all remarkably similar in nature.
Miyuki Fukada had sprayed food on him.
Masashi Asayama had threatened him with a glare.
And that kid Nikō had refused to open the door for him.
Basically, they had all offended him in some way.
It was highly likely that the System was annoyed and issuing quests as a form of petty revenge against them.
Is my System actually just a petty, vindictive jerk?
Thinking about this, Rokuro's face darkened slightly.
If that was true, he was going to have a lot on his plate in the future.
It was fine here, where no one actively wanted to kill him. But once he became a real ninja and the number of people out for his blood multiplied, the System's Random Quests might turn into daily assassination missions for petty grievances.
Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
He just wanted to train peacefully!
Wasn't this System just forcing him to cause trouble?
While Rokuro was nursing his headache, Okamoto watched him with confusion. Rokuro's expression seemed to convey a deep, helpless resignation regarding the broken door.
Thinking about Rokuro's immense talent, Okamoto decided it was best not to scold the boy over such a trivial matter.
He patted Rokuro's head. "Alright, leave this to me to handle. You go back to your training. Once you've mastered the Kunai Throwing Technique, come find me and I'll teach you something new!"
Rokuro snapped back to reality and nodded. "Understood, Lord Okamoto. I'll go train now."
Okamoto waved his hand. "Go on!"
Rokuro bowed to Okamoto and headed toward the kunai training grounds.
Once at the training grounds, he first cranked out his 1,000 push-ups, then began practicing the Kunai Throwing Technique. He trained relentlessly until the sky turned dark, only then heading back to his quarters.
Arriving at his door, he glanced at the room next door.
The door had already been restored to its original state.
It seemed Okamoto had promptly sent someone to fix it.
Rokuro breathed a sigh of relief, then shook his head helplessly.
Now, he just had to wait and see what tomorrow's Random Quest would be.
If it was another revenge quest...
Then his theory would be confirmed.
And doing Random Quests in the future was going to be a massive headache.
If he didn't do them... he couldn't bear to miss out on the EXP.
If he did them... it went completely against his principle of keeping a low profile.
With a heavy sigh, he returned to his room and continued his basic training.
He trained until past midnight.
Unable to wait any longer, he eagerly checked the refreshed quests.
[Daily Training Quest: 1,000 straight punches.]
[Daily Random Quest: Roll around in a mud puddle ten times.]
Looking at the new quest, Rokuro's face turned completely black.
Okay, so this Random Quest isn't taking revenge on someone else... it's taking revenge on ME!
Yesterday, he had thought the System was petty and vindictive, and it seemed the System had taken offense to that!
Dammit!
This System definitely has a mind of its own.
I cannot afford to offend Grandpa System in the future.
If the System decided to actively torture him, he would be in deep trouble.
Grandpa Golden Finger is the true Big Boss.
Rokuro silently chanted, "The System is mighty, the System is kind, the System is the greatest," a hundred times in his head before he finally relaxed and slipped out the door to complete the Random Quest.
Rolling in the mud.
He obviously couldn't do a quest like this during the day.
If anyone saw him, he would die of embarrassment.
Doing it in the dead of night minimized the chances of being discovered.
He brought a canteen of water, found a secluded corner, poured the water on the dirt to make a patch of mud, and quickly rolled around in it ten times. Quest completed, he hurried back to his room.
He showered.
He washed his clothes.
Only after finishing all of this did he finally collapse onto his bed to sleep.
As for the measly 50 EXP rewarded for completing the Random Quest, he didn't even dare complain.
If Grandpa System threw a fit again, who knew what kind of garbage quest he'd have to do next.
A day passed.
It seemed Rokuro's excessive flattery had pleased the System greatly, as the Random Quests became much milder. The next day, he simply had to catch a small bird.
On the third day, the Random Quest was to ask Okamoto for two extra chicken legs at lunch.
On the fourth day, the Random Quest was to destroy a tree.
For several days in a row, the Random Quests were simple, trivial tasks, and the reward was back to a solid 100 EXP. This put Rokuro in a fantastic mood, and he made sure to praise the System 100 times every night before going to sleep.
In those four days, Rokuro had already pushed his [Kunai Throwing Technique] to Level 3.
However!
He didn't immediately go to Okamoto.
Progressing that fast was too unnatural and would easily invite trouble.
He continued "training" normally, waiting until half a month had passed before finally going to find Okamoto.
When Okamoto heard Rokuro claim he could hit the bullseye with every throw, he was ecstatic.
He dragged Rokuro to the training grounds and made him demonstrate.
Rokuro threw twenty kunai in rapid succession. Every single one sank perfectly into the center of the bullseye. Okamoto was practically vibrating with excitement. He was absolutely certain now: his ticket out of this orphanage and back to the Hidden Leaf Village rested entirely on Kanda Rokuro's shoulders.
Overjoyed, Okamoto looked at Rokuro. "Rokuro, your kunai skills are excellent. What else do you want to learn now? Just say the word, and I'll teach you."
Hearing this, Rokuro immediately replied, "I want to learn Ninjutsu!"
Okamoto's expression instantly stiffened. He looked at Rokuro, hesitating for a moment. "Practicing Ninjutsu requires Chakra. Most children don't begin molding Chakra until they are at least seven years old. It's still a bit too early for you to learn Ninjutsu!"
Rokuro looked disappointed. "Lord Okamoto, didn't you say I was a little genius? Can't I learn it early?"
Okamoto hesitated again, then sighed. "It's not that I don't want to teach you. The method for extracting Chakra is only taught at Headquarters. With your current abilities, if you want to learn, I can recommend you to be sent to Headquarters at the end of the year. You can learn it then. Just endure it for a few more months!"
Rokuro was stunned. He looked at Okamoto curiously. "Lord Okamoto, don't you have to pass an exam to go to Headquarters?"
Okamoto patted Rokuro's shoulder. "Normally, yes, an exam is required. But I have already submitted a special report regarding your progress. The higher-ups have stated that once you turn five, you can proceed directly to Headquarters without taking the exam. It seems Headquarters thinks very highly of your talent!"
Rokuro was overjoyed!
I can finally go to Konoha!
I hope I can see some of those famous characters!
He had four months left.
That was exactly enough time to push his [Taijutsu Level] to Level 3.
He would hoard some EXP, and once he learned how to extract Chakra, he would use it to rapidly upgrade his Ninjutsu levels.