Chap.95 Playing with the mouse

-Is that so, Nya~? -Neferpitou looked curiously at the severed head that kept cursing his contractor's several generations past.

-Yes, I'm going to give it to you along with the rest of his body -Tony pointed to Hidan's remaining pieces beside him -I may need you to help me with something in a while, is that enough for you to consider it a proper retainer? I will provide you with the rest once I finish the business I called you for, as much food as you deem necessary. I've gotten some good stuff recently that I think you'll be very pleased with.

-Mmm, it will be interesting to study this singularity -Neferpitou took the head and turned it around, playing with it while juggling and poking it with his nails in several places, causing Hidan's vocal cords to become paralyzed and his eyes to become bloodshot -I'll take it, call me when the time is right, nya~. In fact, do you want me to help you now for a bit?

Kakuzu flinched as Neferpitou's gaze sharpened in her direction, like a cat that has seen a new toy.

Because he had a terrible premonition with this summoned creature?

He even stopped counting money for a moment! Strange... he didn't look very strong with his thin physique.

-You noticed its uniqueness at a glance and you want it for study too, right? -Tony raised his eyebrow and commented, not being fooled. If it were that easy to mobilize the Chimera Ant Royal Guards, he'd be using them a lot more often.

But they were terribly picky about their payments.

-Nya~? I don't know what you're talking about..." Neferpitou's ears twitched a couple of times as she averted her gaze, feigning amused non-understanding.

Tony sighed, he was pretty sure that if it wasn't for his role as a contractor, he would have acted however he wanted to by now.

-How about this? -Tony proposed, "Take it too if you want, but that will count as additional payment for another time.

-Mmm... -Neferpitou's tail wagged behind her a couple of times as she thought- Deal!

-Hey!" Kakuzu was annoyed after listening to their conversation.

You think because I accept your money I'm easy?

Don't confuse the two issues!

-I haven't left the nest in a while, so let's try to have a good time-Neferpitou lifted one leg and left her arms at shoulder height- Let's go dance~Terpsichora!

Tony looked at her quizzically as he stepped back next to Shikamaru and Choji.

Let's go dancing?

Did you meet Madara in the past and did you catch his famous phrase?

-Hey, Choji, are you okay? -Shikamaru noticed that Choji was very pale and shaking, sweating a lot.

-Oh, I completely forgot," Tony became aware of Choji's condition and understood what was going on. Choji's gourmet cells must have been screaming for him to run away with all his might, from the moment Neferpitou activated his ability.

As the contractor, Tony was familiar with his summonings and was not as affected because his own gourmet cells were already quite evolved. But forget Choji, any ninja with the sensory specialty would have possibly fainted frothing at the mouth upon sensing the Royal Guardian's aura.

Actually, that Choji managed to resist that impulse is already very impressive.

-Take some chocolate, it'll help you calm down-" tearing off a piece of wall from the nearby building and turning it into premium chocolate, he offered it to Choji.

-Thank you... -Choji took the basketball-sized chocolate and was calming down a bit after biting several times.

-Your summoned beast will be able to... -Tony covered Shikamaru's mouth with his palm before he could complete his question.

-Believe me, he will have no problem taking care of Kakuzu," he assured as he looked at him and shook his head, conveying not to say anything like that again.

The reason why he interrupted Shikamaru, is because the jonin had quite possibly misunderstood Neferpitou's character. Even as a contractor, he had to act appropriately with the Royal Guardians and their seemingly casual interaction was the result of meeting each other already a few times before along with the fact that Tony had a general idea of their personalities.

Do you think they'll let it pass for a human to "belittle" them even if he's an ally?

Maybe he had just saved Shikamaru's life, preventing him from becoming a meatball.

Shikamaru understood that he seemed to have said something wrong and waved Tony's hand away, turning his attention to the fight.

With a leap, Neferpitou stabbed his foot into Kakuzu's back in hopes of neutralizing him with as little damage as possible, facilitating his further study. Kakuzu's robe could not survive the blow and his physique with the stitched masks was revealed, of which one of them was broken, blue in color.

-Nya~? I'm sure I pierced a heart, but you're still alive," Neferpitou looked with interest at the masks and the seams on Kakuzu's body as he performed a backflip to walk away, "Did we meet before? That sounds a bit like my Doctor Blythe's work....

-I didn't expect to lose a heart so soon- Kakuzu looked annoyed, because the Water heart he had before being destroyed by Neferpitou was one with an unusual quality. He released his other masks and soon, creatures made of black filaments came out of his body.

-Are you familiar with a Kite? -Neferpitou suddenly asked as she remembered the last toy she had, genuinely interested in the answer.

-How should I know? -asked Kakuzu as he set one of the creatures guarding the spectators aside and used the ones with the Fire and Wind masks acting at the same time- Do you have any idea what my age is?

A flare rushed out from one of the masks and was amplified by the wind current of the other, generating a wide-ranging, high-powered attack.

-Do you have a heart in each of those things? I can hear the heartbeat inside them. How long can each heart last? Do you need to meet any special requirements?

Neferpitou moved at great speed and stabbed with his hand using his claws, sinking his arm to the elbow and destroying the creature with the yellow mask that had stayed out of the fight.

It could be seen as it held a damaged heart in between its fingers, to which it had still connected some strands of chakra.

-You! -Kakuzu didn't expect his opponent to completely ignore both him and the masks he had in combat and instead attack the one he was using to stand guard.

He decided to get serious against the strange humanoid cat, she was more dangerous than he had initially estimated. He re-absorbed the two remaining masks and the seams of his arms, back and mouth burst, revealing his final form as any boss in an RPG would.

Tony held back his urge to laugh.

Did he really not realize that Neferpitou is just messing with him?