Chapter 122

As they stood there, Obito's restless energy was palpable. Takeshi and Kakashi exchanged glances.

Obito, freshly promoted to Chunin, was brimming with enthusiasm, having forgotten the hardships of carrying medicinal materials. He yearned for some action to release his pent-up energy.

Kakashi glanced at Obito, accustomed to this kind of atmosphere. He treated Obito similarly to how he dealt with Guy, though Obito was not as easy to fool.

Takeshi couldn't bear the tense silence. He stood up, raised his head, and gazed into the distance. "They're still setting up camp; why don't we go help?" he exclaimed.

Obito and Kakashi exchanged reluctant looks, neither keen on mundane labor..

Rin's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, and she agreed with Takeshi's suggestion. "Okay, let's go help carry things! I'll do my best," she said energetically, taking the lead.

Kakashi hesitated, sensing something off about Takeshi's idea. He suggested, "We could use ninjutsu to help lift the heavier loads as a team. Takeshi looks quite energetic; I'm sure he's excited to help."

Before Takeshi could object, Rin agreed to Kakashi's plan. Takeshi's face fell, and he felt a pang of disappointment. He had been looking forward to lazing around, but Kakashi's suggestion had thwarted his plans.

What goes around comes around, and it wasn't always possible for things to go his way. 'Oh well, I might as well stretch my muscles.'

The group headed to the center of the camp to lend a hand. Initially, the Genin in charge of setting up the tents were hesitant to let the Chunin assist, but Kakashi cited "training" as the reason, and they eventually relented.

As they worked, Takeshi couldn't resist showing off his skills. He used the Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu to transform his fur into multiple ropes, distributing lumber where it was needed, impressing the ninjas with his capabilities.

After returning his fur to its original state, he sharpened his claws on the ground and said, "It's your turn, meow!"

"No problem," Kakashi replied, drawing a sword from his back. It was a gift from Minato when he was disguised as an Iwagakure ninja and hadn't taken it back after the mission.

Obito looked confused, asking, "What do I do?" While Rin smiled softly, happy that Takeshi had helped.

After completing their tasks, the group took a well-deserved break. Takeshi, exhausted, curled up and "fell asleep" beside Rin and Obito, looking carefree and relaxed.

Meanwhile, Kakashi kept a watchful eye, honing his sword skills nearby. Obito and Rin worked together, moving wood and helping the ninjas set up the tents.

When no one was paying attention, Takeshi sneaked away to the forest's edge, opened the system panel, and accessed the Gacha page in the Shop. His eyes widened as he scanned the prizes, which included the Byakugan, Sharingan, and special Kekkei Genkai like Magnetic Release and Boil Release.

Takeshi's eyes sparkled with excitement as he gathered his chakra, washed his paws using Water Release jutsu, and rubbed them together.

He muttered to himself, "I'm not being too greedy, O Kami, O Hagoromo! Please bless this kitty. Even if not Rinnegan... Byakugan and Sharingan would be great as consolation prizes too!"

With a thought, the Gacha began, and the prizes appeared on the reward panel. The first item was dried fish, followed by Ichiraku Ramen and Strawberry Daifuku (Japanese sweets).

Takeshi's eyes widened as he saw luxury cat food among the prizes, and his heart raced with excitement.

After drawing the Gacha, Takeshi laid down on a branch, exhausted. He gathered his energy and sorted out a few useful items from the prizes, setting aside things he could give to Nekomata.

He skipped the top three items and opted for the cat scratching post, auto-returning iron ball, and a few other items.

Although the luxury cat food alone was worth the Gacha, he had just eaten it a couple of days ago. So, he would need to wait until the natural energy stored in his body was digested before eating more.

'Sure enough, my luck is bad. If I hadn't decided to give the unimportant items to Nekomata, I wouldn't have gotten this good draw. Maybe this Gacha could be even greater if I had chosen better items for myself.'

As Takeshi pondered what to do with the luxury cat food, he knew he couldn't eat it for now, and the time for the Kannabi Bridge mission was approaching.

(E/N: For those wondering why that matters, despite Takeshi being quite strong and having the Flying Thunder God technique, the whole setup was orchestrated by Madara. It was a trap to capture an Uchiha, which Madara could break and mold for his plans.)

Since he didn't want the Ichiraku Ramen and Strawberry Daifuku, and had grown above eating ordinary dried fish, he decided to keep the cat scratching post for later use. 

As for the auto-returning iron ball, remembering the last time it was smacked away by Kabutowari (Blunt Sword of the Seven Swords of the Mist) without returning, likely destroyed, but maybe it could be useful next time, so he kept it just in case.

After further consideration, he planned to send the last few items to Nekomata using the Flying Thunder God technique, but one decision was not easy to make: the luxury cat food.

This was incredibly useful. 'If I keep it, I can save myself from buying luxury cat food next time. But if I give it to Nekomata, his strength will increase, which is a good thing for myself and Rin.'

It's better to have a capable and strong subordinate to help whenever needed, as he couldn't always be present with Rin.

Takeshi took out these items from the storage space, packed them up, and sent them to Nekomata without any regrets.

He took a deep breath, saw that the panel still had more than two thousand points, and looked at the prize pool again, wondering whether to try the Gacha again.

Maybe he would get even better things?

As he continued pondering, he heard a dog barking in the distance, followed by the sound of footsteps.

Takeshi turned to see several ninjas rushing back. The last one was wearing unique clothes, characteristic of the Aburame clan. Whenever he thought about the Aburame clan, Takeshi recalled Aburame Shima, his favorite points printer.

There was also an Inuzuka clan member, and Takeshi's eyes lit up. Maybe he could get some points here. Observing the Aburame clan member, Takeshi recognized him as Shibi Aburame, though he probably hadn't become the clan leader yet.

"Woof woof woof!" The big dog ran over and barked at the tree where Takeshi was hiding.

"Enemy?" Shibi Aburame quickly released his parasites.

Shibi's parasites swarmed out, scanning the tree and its surroundings. Takeshi, hidden behind the leaves, watched them approach. With swift movements, he smacked a bunch of the insects before they could reach him, etching them on the tree.

The remaining parasites flew back, as Shibi received their message.

He looked at the tree in surprise and said suspiciously, "A ninja cat."

"Meow~ Hello everyone, I am Konoha's Special Jonin Takeshi," Takeshi waved his paw.

"Special... Special Jonin?" The Inuzuka clan member was surprised. As an elite Chunin, he couldn't believe a ninja beast was higher ranked than him.

"Takeshi? I've heard about him," Shibi said softly.

"Why don't I remember there being a Special Jonin ninja cat in the village?"

"Do you know anything about this? I have no idea at all."

"..." Shibi felt ignored again and sighed. Reflecting, he realized he might have spoken too softly, so he spoke louder, "You're the cat adopted by the little girl from the Nohara family, right? I've heard from—"

Before Shibi could continue, he was interrupted. "Ah! That's why this cat felt familiar. Now, I remember. Nohara Aizawa had been bragging non-stop about this. Speaking of which, in the missions I've been on the last couple of months, I haven't seen him. I don't know what happened to him. Hopefully, he is well. Does anyone know how he is?" The conversation derailed among the ninjas present.

"..." Shibi felt a little tired at being ignored again, but it was only for a moment. He had become accustomed to it after so many years.

Shibi walked forward, his voice deliberately louder, "Let's go, Jiraiya-sama is still waiting." The others were surprised for a moment, then quickly followed his pace.

Takeshi remained atop the tree, contemplating. Shibi being a Jonin at his young age meant he was definitely strong and capable. That explained why the bugs weren't afraid of being near him. Takeshi needed to adjust his strategy for getting points out of Shibi.

With a deep breath, Takeshi prepared himself for the challenges ahead.

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