Chapter 123

In the Cat Castle, Nekomata was lounging in the attic, indulging in the servitude of his subordinate cats. Suddenly, a barrage of objects fell from nowhere, striking him on the head.

"Who dares!?" Nekomata's angry voice echoed throughout the castle.

It was unacceptable for the Great Ninja Cat King to be bullied like this, especially in his own territory. Which cat would dare to sneak up on him?

Ninja cats as powerful and talented as Takeshi were extremely rare. Although these ninja cats possessed some wisdom, they still had pack mentality, so they wouldn't mess with the leader of their pack.

With Nekomata angry, all the cats nearby were frightened, trembling with fear.

Only one young kitten dared to speak, reminding him with a fearful tone, "My Lord, these seem to be food."

'Food?' Nekomata was stunned for a moment, then immediately stood up and checked around.

Indeed, there was a lot of food scattered around, including dried fish, some sweets, and even a bowl of ramen. He was perplexed by what was happening.

But upon seeing a package that looked similar to the special cat food he had eaten from Takeshi, he understood the source of the items. These must have been sent by Takeshi.

"Meow?" The subordinate cats, seeing their King no longer angry, decided to check the items. Some even wanted to taste the food.

"Meow!" (Get out!) Nekomata, seeing this, roared angrily, his size increasing as he glared at the courageous cats daring to eat his food.

The subordinate cats ran away, seeing their King's fury return with strong intensity. As Nekomata stood there, wondering.

After spending so much time with Takeshi, he gradually understood his nature. A stingy cat who was only interested in self-profit and would even take the skin off his enemies for selling after defeating them.

Such a stingy cat actually sent so many items to him at once, including a pack of cat food that seemed higher quality than before. This raised his suspicions.

"Let's try it." Nekomata ate everything, and most of the food was delicious, except for the dried fish and ramen.

Dried fish was the most common kind, and ramen tested the flexibility of his claws. Although the soup was delicious, eating noodles was really difficult.

He saved the best for last, staring at the package. To eat, or not to eat... eat! Unable to resist any further, Nekomata tore open the package and ate all the cat food immediately.

'The smell is so good, the taste feels weird... Wait, no! Something is happening to my body...'

The next second, Nekomata's eyes turned white, and his body fell down, as he passed out. Normal beasts cannot withstand the impact of natural energy on first contact, and Nekomata was no exception.

Takeshi, while not able to sense what was happening with Nekomata, knew the greedy old cat would definitely eat the luxury cat food. 'After eating it, he will get a taste of how strong I can make him and work harder.'

No longer thinking about Nekomata, Takeshi focused on the treasures he hadn't collected yet.

As long as his guess is verified, he will have a stable treasure house of points in Konoha. Could there be anything better in the world?

Therefore, testing was the priority. However, getting close to Aburame Shibi was not easy.

Takeshi sat outside the tent, considering whether he should go in. 'I was pulled out before. Obviously, they didn't welcome me, but... if I go in, I should be able to earn a lot of points, right?' he thought, stretching his claws in preparation.

'Let's do this!' Takeshi firmed his resolve, telling himself it was worth getting scolded later to make points. He entered from underneath the tent, and the sound immediately attracted the attention of the Jonins. But then everyone saw the cat covering his fur with chakra and leaping forward.

Seeing such powerful chakra fluctuations, the Special Jonins and Jonins marveled, understanding that this cat indeed had Special Jonin strength.

But the one who had the biggest reaction was Shibi Aburame. His body dispersed into insects, and his true form appeared elsewhere.

'Insect Clone' Everyone was surprised for a moment, then they noticed Shibi Aburame standing where Takeshi had entered.

The target the cat wanted to attack was clearly Shibi. Minato stood up and bowed to apologize, then rushed over to catch Takeshi, but Takeshi had already backed out and run out of the tent.

'Such speed...' Everyone sighed. However, Minato didn't use the Flying Thunder God in such a small space, as it would be considered rude.

(E/N: For those wondering why this would be rude, it's because they are high-ranking, experienced Jonins and Special Jonins. Their instincts would jolt if Minato suddenly teleported beside them.)

Otherwise, with the speed of the Flying Thunder God, it would be easy to catch Takeshi—provided Takeshi didn't use it as well.

"I apologize for my subordinate's behavior."

"Don't worry about it. I attacked the cat first, so maybe he judged me as an enemy." Shibi didn't care but felt everyone's reaction was a bit strange.

'Hmm, is there something wrong with this cat?' He thought to himself and walked back to his original position. Everyone quickly continued their talks.

"By the way, that cat is a Special Jonin?" Shibi asked, remembering his previous interaction with Takeshi. When they first met, Takeshi called himself "Special Jonin Takeshi."

Everyone was silent. After a long moment, a Gekko Clan member sighed heavily before nodding and said, "Yes, he is at the same rank as me."

'You didn't have to emphasize being the same rank....' A few Special Jonins cursed him in their hearts, feeling the judging gazes of their comrades, making them lower their heads in shame.

"Sorry, I... um, it's okay. Let's talk about the Iwagakure Village. Onoki is obviously interested in the Kusagakure Village. Jiraiya-sama, what should we do?" Shibi diverted the topic, wanting to apologize but realizing that continuing this matter might affect other Special Jonins, so he decided to shift the conversation to an important topic.

Takeshi came out of the tent and was a little angry when he saw he had only gained around seven hundred points. 

He lamented that these Jonins were too adaptable, but after a few more seconds, the gain jumped to more than one thousand points.

Although he didn't know what happened, he thanked them for donating more than 1700 points. 'This new rank seems to be quite useful. I should try to get more merits and missions to get promoted to proper Jonin rank. How many points will I get then?'

Takeshi, knowing his next immediate goal, wondered when he could get a mission. Ordinary mundane missions weren't enough; otherwise, Maito Gai would not still be a Genin.

Ordinary mundane missions aren't enough, Otherwise, Maito Duy would not be just a Genin until now.

Only war and combat exploits could quickly promote him to Jonin. With Iwagakure being the closest, he could only look forward to them taking action so he could participate in counterattacks and gain lots of merits.

Wanting more intelligence, Takeshi hid outside the tent and eavesdropped. Of course, the Jonins inside the tent sensed him outside.

But with his position as a Special Jonin, it wouldn't be a problem for him to listen. It's not like they were conducting a secretive meeting at the moment.

"Kusagakure has been an ally of Konoha for decades. This territory must not be ceded. In my interactions with the leader of Kusagakure, observing his attitude, he seemed to be afraid of our Konoha's strength and is unlikely to defect for now," Minato said.

(E/N: For those wondering why it's "Leader" instead of "Kage" of Kusagakure Village, it's because smaller villages don't have Kages like Hokage, Raikage, Tsuchikage, Mizukage, etc. Only the five great villages have them. If anyone wants to look up, see Shibuki from Takigakure, who is the village head, not a Kage.)

Minato, one of the people who had interacted more with the Leader of Kusagakure, likely led to his team being transferred over. Takeshi thought to himself.

"Then..."

"Meow! What if it does happen? What if they collude with Iwagakure!" Takeshi got in again, putting forward his point of view.

Everyone, being experienced ninjas, considered this question well. 'What if it does happen...' After all, they are all Jonins, and their adaptability is indeed very strong, especially Jiraiya's. He has seen and experienced many such things over the years, so he is not surprised at all. "If they change sides, then we will fight them as well," he continued. 

While Jiraiya longs for peace, he understands that Konoha is currently in a precarious situation, and if he doesn't fight, his homeland would be destroyed. 

'Achieving peace is not that easy...' Minato sighed, then nodded as he continued. "I have formulated a battle plan for the Kusagakure Village if they fall to the Iwagakure Village. Please take a look at it, Jiraiya-sama."

(E/N: Jiraiya-sama and not Sensei because he is currently acting in his role as commander.)

Shibi took out a scroll. One of the reasons he is a Jonin is that, in addition to his own combat capabilities, his battle wisdom is also high. With Shikaku Nara around, everyone will be more inclined to follow Shikaku's plan.

There is no shortage of talented people in Konoha. No matter what the attitude of the Kusagakure is, everyone will still take into account their potential defection, so thinking this Shibi wrote out a battle plan for this scenario sometime back.

After Jiraiya read it, he nodded slightly and said, "This is feasible. According to your plan, we will first send people to sneak into Kusagakure to spy on their attitude and behavior inside the village. Who do you think is better for this mission?"

"First choice? It's Anbu, but with many Anbu being sent to the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, we will likely have a shortage of Anbu available," Shibi responded after considering for a moment.

Jiraiya fell into deep thought. After a few seconds, he looked at the cat.

"Meow?" Takeshi was surprised. 'Why is he looking at me? Could it be that...my opportunity to be promoted to Jonin has come?!'

"You are a good choice, but should I let you go alone?"

"Ahem, Sir, I will go with him." After a slight cough, Naoki Gekko volunteered to raise his hand. As a member of the Gekko Clan, he has been trained in spying and assassination since a young age.

While there were many others also suitable for this mission, they were reluctant to go on a mission with this cat due to his mischievous and noisy nature.

"Meow~ Actually, I can do it alone." Takeshi didn't want to cooperate with others, as a solo mission would give him more freedom of movement. He could go wherever he wanted and do whatever he wanted. It's inconvenient to have more than one person.

"Don't worry, I won't let you go alone. You will go with Naoki Gekko. That's my decision!" Jiraiya smiled.

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