Chapter 121 - Granny Cat

With the continued unrolling of the scroll in his hand, the information recorded on it appeared before his eyes.

The recorded locations were in the following order:

Land of Demons, Yellow Springs Swamp—numerous unknown creatures sighted in the vicinity. Forms are unidentified, but local legends describe them as enormous and terrifying in appearance.

Land of Lightning, northern sea—unnamed islands with multiple large beasts present. Large land reptiles inhabit these islands. The exact location of the islands is uncertain.

Land of Water, eastern offshore, Torrential Sea—numerous giant marine creatures gather here, including aggressive deep-sea beasts, suspected to be the mission's search location.

Land of Fire, eastern coast—unnamed islands supposedly home to many summoning beasts, also suspected as the mission's location.

...

Staring at the list of places on the scroll, Tōshirō pondered carefully. He tried to recall memories from his previous life, but the time had blurred those details, and the filler arcs of the story were not well remembered. He needed to think hard.

After a prolonged silence, Tōshirō started to eliminate possibilities, looking at the scroll in his hands.

His memories were too vague to determine definitively if any of these locations contained what he was seeking.

The first to be eliminated was the Land of Demons and the Yellow Springs Swamp. That cursed place was likely related to the rumored Yellow Springs Sect, probably involved in some mischief to scare away ordinary people and act without interference.

The Land of Lightning seemed to be the location where Naruto later trained in Tailed Beast Mode if the information on the scroll was correct. He remembered something about a True Waterfall there that could reflect one's inner darkness; it might be worth visiting if he had the time. Sharingan, being a spiritually oriented power, could benefit from such an experience.

The eastern offshore area of the Land of Water, described in his geography textbooks, sounded extremely difficult to navigate without a large ship. Given the current state of affairs, it wasn't feasible for an Uchiha to travel to the Land of Water and find a large ship within a month. Thus, he had to pin his hopes on the eastern coastal area of the Land of Fire.

"Granny Cat, do you have a detailed map of the location on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire?" he asked directly without holding back. He was the task client in this situation and could make such requests.

He had only paid a deposit for this mission.

With a deep breath, Granny Cat exhaled a cloud of pale purple smoke, obscuring her expression. "Detailed map, hm? Let me see if I can find one..." she replied, signaling the cat sitting beside her.

"Although I shouldn't ask, Uchiha boy, may I know why you are seeking a place with large summoning beasts?" 

Facing an Uchiha, Granny Cat showed little reservation and asked directly.

"I want to find a strong summon beast to prepare for future battles," Tōshirō replied, giving the same answer he had given to Uchiha Fugaku.

He did not reveal his true intention of finding a place filled with natural energy to train in Sage Mode. This decision was partly due to Granny Cat's relationship with the ninja cats and their possible understanding of natural energy. To avoid complications, Tōshirō chose to keep it a secret.

Granny Cat, accepting his answer, didn't press further and waited calmly.

Soon, the white cat returned with a piece of paper. After meowing a few times by Granny Cat's ear, it dashed out of the room, seemingly eager to join its companions for some fun.

Watching Granny Cat's adorned ears piqued Tōshirō's curiosity, but he focused on the sketch in his hand.

"Uh... I didn't expect it to be a volcanic island..." Tōshirō remarked, seeing the markings on the map.

Nevertheless, he accepted the information. He was taking a chance with this mission anyway. Seeing the coordinates, Tōshirō quickly put the map away and carefully pulled out a bankbook from his backpack. It held seventy thousand ryo, the remaining payment for this mission, which he was about to part with.

The thought of spending his hard-saved money over the last two years pained him. If this mission bore no results, he would suffer a major loss.

Wasting no time, he left with the map he had bought for one million ryo, heading to the eastern coast of the Land of Fire. The total cost was indeed hefty, rivaling an A-rank mission fee, one of the more expensive kinds.

It took Tōshirō three days to reach the targeted sea area, where he spent more money on buying a small boat for the journey. Fortunately, the destination was not far from the coast; otherwise, reaching it with a small boat would have been impossible.

As the small boat floated closer, Tōshirō felt increasingly uneasy. He had no special premonitions and was unsure if this expedition would yield any results.

Reaching the island by evening, he dragged his boat ashore to prevent it from being swept away by the tide. Exhausted from three days of travel and a day of rowing, Tōshirō set up camp on the beach to rest.

Feeling the weight of the venture, he settled in for the night...

(End of Chapter)