A friendship after death.

---

In a distant forest from Konoha.

A young man was sitting in front of a campfire while grilling a fish, the aroma of the roasted fish spread around the abundant forest, his green hair and eyes matched the green of the leaves around him.

Several days had passed since Kaito's departure from Konoha, and not many people knew he had left, so there were no farewells.

Kaito was savoring his roasted fish when he heard footsteps behind him, but he didn't care and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

But in the next moment, something flew towards him, specifically towards his roasted fish; the speed was fast enough for most people not to dodge.

However, at the last moment, Kaito lowered his hand holding the fish, causing the mysterious being to miss the target.

Upon closer observation, Kaito finally realized what it was, and his expression couldn't have been more incredulous; he simply couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"There's no chance it's you, is there? No, I'm sure it's you, you cursed reincarnating cat, so you came after me, you darn cat!" Kaito stood up, astonished and afraid; he didn't want to die and be taken back by this cat.

But the cat couldn't care less about Kaito's words and reactions; it simply looked at the fish in his hands.

Upon realizing this, Kaito quickly threw the fish to him, and with a leap, the cat caught it in its mouth.

"How come you're here too? Damn it, I think I'd better stay away from you." When Kaito was about to retreat, the little cat turned to him; the fish it had received was already gone.

The fur of the feline bristled all over as light blue tones formed in its fur.

"Hey, don't you dare do anything strange," Kaito said as he began to form a water barrier around himself.

Meanwhile, the cat continued to freeze, paying no attention to Kaito, who was becoming increasingly uneasy.

Several seconds passed, and the cat now had much of its fur covered in ice, forming some ice spikes on its back.

Meow!

That was all the cat had to say before pouncing on him with all its strength; the speed was truly alarming.

Kaito had already frozen the water barrier even before the cat collided, making a great impact, and ice shards scattered everywhere.

"Darn it, such a small cat made all this impact. I can't let this cat kill me again," Kaito thought as he noticed slight cracks in his ice.

Several ice hands formed around the barriers seeking to hit the cat, which dodged them all perfectly, showing its incredible agility, but several other attacks were made by Kaito.

Several ice spikes were shot towards the cat, who again showed its extreme dexterity, dodging all of his attacks, and landing delicately on a tree; the look on the feline's face was one of disdain.

Meow!

"Meow, nothing, you darn cat! Do you think this is all I have?" Kaito shouted at the feline while forming a series of hand seals.

"Wind Style Jutsu: Great Tornado." A large amount of wind formed in front of him, swirling and turning into a tornado, but not finding it enough, Kaito began making hand signs again.

"Water Style Jutsu: Water Whirlpool." As he launched his water jutsu towards the tornado.

"Combined Jutsu: Great Cyclone." Kaito spoke as the two jutsu merged into an enormous cyclone.

The cyclone's winds, besides being strong enough to uproot trees, also left horrible cut marks, while the water particles seemed like bullets, piercing everything around.

The feline, who had been completely unconcerned before, found itself cornered as it was pulled into the cyclone; seeing that it would be its end, the cat transformed all of its skin into ice.

The cyclone continued to devastate the surrounding area for a certain time until it finally dissipated.

"Hahaha, you attacked me first, and now you've tasted the bitterness of defeat," Kaito said as he approached the ice sculpture shaped like a cat, knowing that the cat hadn't died but certainly was injured.

The ice around the cat had several puncture marks and cuts, and in some areas, even bloodstains could be seen, demonstrating that the ice the cat possessed wasn't strong enough to defend itself.

"Haha, I like you, cat. Maybe I was a little irritated for dying that way, but you brought me to the ninja world, haha. I won't let you die like this," after saying this, Kaito looked into the cat's eyes, which contained a bit of fear but much more disdain.

'He still has that look, that cheeky cat. Let's see how you'll deal with this,' right after his thought, he formed several hand seals, leaving the cat quite nervous, but in the next moment, instead of an attacking jutsu, Kaito touched his hand to the ice, causing it to start thawing rapidly. The feline tried to control the ice, but couldn't resist.

Quickly, the ice was thawed, and Kaito formed some more hand seals and this time directly touched the cat, a bunch of tattoos spread directly on the cat's body.

"Haha, now you can't escape from me, you idiot cat, haha," Kaito smiled seeing his technique had worked.

"This is a contract seal; you can't harm me while it's active, but don't worry, I won't cause you any harm," after saying this, Kaito's gaze became more affectionate as he took out medicines and bandages from his scroll to treat the cat's wounds.

The cat seemed to understand what Kaito had said and had become much calmer, letting him treat its wounds.

After a quick treatment, Kaito picked up the cat and put it on his shoulder, heading towards his goal.

...

After the encounter with the feline, the journey was much smoother, nothing unexpected happened, and after two weeks of travel, Kaito reached his destination.

There was a mountain that resembled three wolves; everything was covered in snow, and many would find it extremely cold, but Kaito felt in harmony with nature here; his body was much more relaxed, and he felt that if he were to fight here, his Hyoton would be much stronger.

In his mind, a pair of golden eyes opened as he stretched, the feline with its black tone gave a different highlight to Kaito's green hair.

"Come on, wake up, you sleep most of the time, and you have to stop this habit of sleeping on top of my head," Kaito complained to the cat, who simply ignored him, finding warmth and comfort in his head.

The young man and the cat continued their walk towards the Land of Iron after this little argument.

It didn't take long for them to reach the gates, where several guards with heavy armor, helmets, gas masks, and swords stood.

"Identify yourself," one of the guards spoke as Kaito approached slowly.

"I am a wandering swordsman, my name is Dracule Mihawk. I came to the Land of Iron

because I heard it's the best place to find strong opponents and hone the art of the sword," Kaito said as he pushed aside the cloak he was wearing to show his katana at his waist, his appearance had already changed to that of Mihawk as he walked towards them.

The guard looked a bit at his katana and then looked into his eyes, which now looked like those of a hawk, and after a few seconds of silence, the guard stepped aside while speaking.

"You may enter, but do not cause trouble, or you will deeply regret it, but welcome to hone your skills."

Kaito walked slowly through the gates and headed towards the center of the Land of Iron city.

"That guy wasn't even wearing suitable clothing for the cold; I think that's part of his training," one of the guards said, surprised by Kaito's attire.

The other guards agreed as they watched the man who didn't feel cold walk away.

Kaito walked while observing the houses around, many of them being very similar to the old samurai houses, making him feel in a completely new environment.

The cat, on the other hand, stuck its head out of his clothes while looking around until its little feline eyes sparkled; it quickly jumped out of Kaito's vestments, and he had no time to stop it.

Looking to the location the little black cat had fled to, he finally understood why; there was a huge tent selling roasted meat.

The feline didn't take long to quickly reach the place and steal a large piece of meat while going unnoticed by all the people around; its speed and stealth were extremely high, preventing normal people and even some trained ninjas from noticing it. However, just as the cat was about to return, it felt a small hand holding its fur.

"Darn cat, do you think you're going to steal from my barbecue and run away like that? I think today will have cat skewers," the owner of the barbecue lifted the cat, which now had a huge piece of meat in its mouth.

The little black cat looked towards Kaito in an attempt to seek help, but Kaito looked aside and ignored it, making it feel instantly betrayed.

At that moment, its fur began to freeze as the hand of the barbecue owner began to freeze, but the next moment, a large amount of chakra surrounded the hand, protecting it from being frozen.

"Ah? You still know how to use chakra; haha, I'll send you straight to the circus; you'll be the main attraction," the barbecue owner spoke, a wicked smile forming on his face, frightening the people around.

"Sorry, sir, but this cat already has an owner; here, take the money for the meat he stole," Kaito approached after realizing that the barbecue owner could control chakra in a way that could prevent him from being frozen.

"Oh, so he has an owner; haha, sorry, but don't let your cat roam around like that; the city guards may not be so lenient if they see him using chakra," the barbecue owner said as he took the money and handed the cat back with its meat still in its mouth.

Kaito waved in agreement and picked up the little black one by its back fur and left.

The feline didn't care about anything and continued to savor its meat while its owner pulled it around the city.

...

Kaito soon approached a house at the end of the city that was different from the norm, providing a stark contrast to the surrounding environment.

'I wonder why my father sent me here, such a long journey, and I still have my mission to fulfill.' Kaito thought as he knocked on the door.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Not long after knocking on the door, an old man opened it, observing Kaito from head to toe, who in turn also observed the old man.

"Who are you? And what is this about?" The old man spoke rudely while observing Kaito.

'He seems like a grumpy old man,' Kaito thought upon seeing the way the old man spoke and replied afterward.

"I am Kaito, I am Haruki's son; he asked me to visit you and deliver this," after finishing speaking, Kaito pulled out a scroll from his pocket; his appearance had already returned to normal before knocking on the door, so the old man could see the similarities between Kaito and Haruki.

"Houhouhou, I didn't expect him to have a son already, but come in," the old man pulled Kaito directly into the house, taking the scroll along with them.

The old man walked while opening the scroll, and then putting some chakra, what was sealed inside the scroll appeared, a katana with a white handle and a dark blade with engravings of a dragon carved on it.

"Houhou, he got me a great sword; at least he compensated me after bringing that troublesome boy to me," the old man spoke again while checking the sword's edge.

Kaito was a bit confused and curious to hear what the old man said, as he wanted to know who the troublesome boy his father had brought to this old man was, but upon realizing that the old man wouldn't say anything more, he ignored it.

The two walked inside the house until they reached a door leading to the back of the house; the old man quickly opened the door, and one could already hear the sound of swords clashing from all sides.

"Everyone stop for a minute," the old man said, and all the sounds of collisions ceased.

As they passed through the door, there was a large training ground, with many people standing with swords in hand, looking in their direction.

"Daichi, come here, I have a present for you," the old man called out a name that sounded a bit familiar to Kaito, but he couldn't remember where he knew that name from.

A young man soon appeared in front of the old man and Kaito; both looked at each other for a few seconds until they both realized who they were.

"And you," the young man spoke as he was surprised to see Kaito, completely ignoring the old man and the present.

Kaito had the same reaction and was completely surprised because he never expected to find this person here after so long.