Mashiro raised an eyebrow, "Of course I trust you, you're my son."
Taro stared at his father, "Then, can you do me a favor?"
Mashiro's face turned serious. In his entire life as a father, there had not been a single favor asked by his kids. The sole reason for this was the reality that the Hosai Clan had nothing else to give. The entire clan was poor, even the clan patriarch himself.
Mashiro frowned, "A favor? Son, I am the clan patriarch of the entirety of Hosai. I cannot give reckless favors, even if it's for my son. Tell me, is this a serious favor, or just a childish game?"
Taro clenched his fist, "It's a small favor, Father. What I need isn't resources nor special treatment."
"Then speak, what do you want?"
Without wasting any more time, Taro spoke, "I need an empty building for myself, for research purposes."
"An entire building?" Mashiro stood up, fury in his eyes. "Do you have any idea how much manpower is needed just to build one singular house? Our people are starving, with little to no energy left, and our ninjas are fighting just to make ends meet!"
"Father—" Taro tried to speak, but was cut off by Mashiro.
"You might not know this, but we only get money through missions from nobles and the generosity of the Daimyo. And currently, the Daimyo's assistance won't be coming in for another three months, and with all the clans conserving strength until the Daimyo's assistance, there are hardly any missions left."
As Taro was getting a lecture, Katsumi walked in. "Dear, why don't we hear him out?"
Mashiro frowned, but reluctantly agreed. "Fine, but it better be reasonable."
Katsumi smiled, "Well, Taro? Why do you need an entire building for yourself exactly?"
Taro stayed quiet, then answered, "Do you guys trust me?"
Mashiro was about to speak again when his wife glared at him.
The three stayed quiet for a couple of minutes but were soon interrupted by Katsumi, "Ah, what about that cave…"
Hearing about a cave, Taro gave a questioning look that was answered by a firm no from Mashiro, "Absolutely not! That cave is outside of the clan fences. I will not be endangering my kid!"
"Didn't you say it yourself, that the clans in the Land of Wind are currently saving their energy until the Daimyo's assistance? That cave is still in our jurisdiction. I don't think anyone would be dumb enough to attack us because it'll gain them zero benefits."
The two argued, but in the end, the wife won.
Mashiro finally agreed, "Follow me."
The two followed, and as they walked, Taro asked, "What exactly is that cave?"
Mashiro sighed, "That cave was your grandfather's birthplace, and where he died."
"Grandpa?" pondered Taro.
Mashiro gave a bitter smile, "He was considered to be one of the strongest in the Land of Wind when he was in his prime. At the age of twelve, he was already a Clan Head-level ninja (Elite Jonin - Kage). At the age of twenty-three, he killed three clan heads at the same time, while only attaining minor wounds."
Taro's eyes widened, as he had never heard of his grandfather's feats.
Mashiro continued, "They called him the Peacemaker, as he created peace with his fists. He killed anyone that stood against his very peace. At his peak, he made our clan the strongest in the Land of Wind, to where even the Daimyo had to respect our name."
"But how did he die?" Taro asked.
Mashiro clenched his fist, "A bastard from the Land of Fire, Uchiha Azunaka… A beast that could make towering chakra humanoids that only gods could possibly make."
The more Mashiro spoke, the more his hand bled from clenching. But for Taro, his mind was elsewhere. "Could it be… Indra's reincarnation? If I remember correctly, Sasuke and Madara weren't the only Indra reincarnations; there were countless of them. And the same could also be said with Ashura and Naruto. But what could he possibly want from the Land of Wind? Shukaku—the One-Tailed Beast?"
As Taro's mind raced, Mashiro announced their arrival, "We're here."
The cave entrance wasn't big; it was eight feet long and ten feet wide. But what amazed Taro more was what was inside.
Inside was flowing water and grass that seamlessly grew on the ground, getting their light from the cracks in the walls.
"This is perfect!" yelled Taro.
The inside was massive, and there were more entrances that went deeper underground.
Katsumi smiled, "What are you gonna be doing here anyway, honey? You said research, but what kind?"
Taro smiled, "Stay here."
He entered the cave and went deeper until his parents couldn't see him anymore. Once he found a suitable place, he opened his inventory and took out all the wheat, placing them on the floor.
The amount of wheat was astonishing, as he had collected over six double chests full of wheat, which was around fifty tons of wheat in the ninja world.
Taro let out a nervous chuckle, "Shit… I think I brought too much."
Taro believed that one wheat from Minecraft is equal to one single wheat sheaf. But for some reason, the wheat was five pounds a bundle.
"Maybe it's different, just like the meat from Minecraft," Taro thought.
He didn't waste any more time and dashed outside to meet his parents.
"That was fast," said Katsumi.
Taro's face gleamed, "Follow me."
The two followed Taro as they went deeper. Mashiro was running out of patience until he saw a bright yellow in the distance and a distinct smell of fresh wheat.
He dashed toward the wheat and saw a jaw-dropping amount of wheat in front of him. Katsumi followed with immense speed.
Katsumi's jaw dropped, as she had never seen this amount of wheat before. "W-What?"
Mashiro turned around, "Taro! What is this?! This wasn't here a few days ago!"
Katsumi was about to ask her own question until Taro pulled something out of his pants. "This is what I wanted to test out." He showed a white, crumbled bone meal.
"What does that have to do with the sheer amount of wheat?!" Mashiro yelled. He wasn't angry, just shocked with a hint of urgency.
Taro calmly placed a bone meal on the ground, and the small grasses that managed to grow began to rapidly grow and take over the wall.
"This is a special bone meal that can make plants grow in seconds. I managed to get my hands on these and planned on experimenting on how to recreate it. As for my sources… Please, trust me, Father, Mother," Taro explained.
Taro did not want to claim these as his creation, as his father could ask for the recipe for the bone meal, which he did not have. After all, it came from Minecraft, not from this world.
If he were to use the fabricated lie that someone or something was giving him these bone meals, then he could temporarily hide his secret until he found a reasonable lie.
Mashiro looked at his son, "This… Is this why you asked me if you can trust me?"
Taro nodded, "I can't tell you where I'm getting these from yet, Dad… But I promise you, I'll dedicate my life to the clan."
Mashiro stared into his son's eyes. In the end, he could only sigh and look at his wife beside him, who was still shocked at the revelation. "Dear, go get forty ninjas and thirty wagons. I'll stay here and guard this place."
Katsumi nodded and walked toward Taro, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Thank you, honey."