"Oh? So Iwagakure was defeated, then?"
Deep within the sunless earth, an old man shifted, dragging the tubes that tethered him to life.
"That's right," a voice replied. "And it seems those leftover Uchiha clan have actually joined the war. They must have reached some kind of agreement with the village."
"Any peace they find will be temporary."
Madara Uchiha took a few weary steps forward, approaching the towering form of the Gedo Mazo, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. As he looked up at it, memories of the past flooded his mind.
After a long moment of silence, he spoke again. "What of Nagato? Have you found him?"
"Still searching," Black Zetsu reported, emerging from the stone. "However, I believe his disappearance may be related to two of Konoha's recent additions. One is Minato Namikaze, and the other is a cat named Takeshi. Both of them have mastered the Flying Thunder God."
"The Flying Thunder God?"
A flicker of some long-buried emotion stirred within Madara, but it vanished as quickly as it came. After so many years, the grudges of the past had long since faded. The only thing that kept him clinging to this wretched existence was the ideal world he had yet to create.
"Yes," Black Zetsu continued. "Danzo was reasonably strong, and there are very few ninja in the world who could have finished him so quickly. I hadn't considered those two before, but they've nearly captured all four of the other Kage. I witnessed what happened to the Mizukage and Onoki myself. With that kind of power, killing a single Danzo would be simple. I suspect even Hiruzen would fall just as swiftly."
He went on to detail the intelligence he had gathered.
Madara listened, falling into deep thought. 'Sage Mode, the Gate of the Great God, and the Flying Thunder God... combined, those abilities are formidable.'
"A cat?" he finally asked.
"Yes. A ninja cat, and a powerful one at that. To be honest, I'm curious about where his clan's Holy Land might have been."
Madara was genuinely bewildered. 'A cat clan that has Sage Mode? I've never heard of such a thing. After the village was founded, the Uchiha had dealings with Nekobaa's clan, but those simple-minded cats could never have mastered senjutsu. I've been trapped underground for too long. Where are all these freaks of nature coming from?'
After several seconds of stunned silence, he spoke again. "With the Flying Thunder God, tracking Nagato will be difficult. We'll have to prepare for both possibilities. Keep an eye on the Uchiha as well. If a suitable genius appears, find a way to bring them to me."
"Understood." Zetsu slowly sank back into the ground, disappearing from sight.
--**--**
By evening, the Konoha ninja had returned to their forward camp. Tents had been hastily erected throughout the day to accommodate the expanded forces, and everyone was settling in. Takeshi, however, hadn't bothered to find his own quarters. He could sleep anywhere.
'Worst case, I can just use the Flying Thunder God to pop back to my castle,' he thought. 'The round trip only costs a bit of chakra.'
When the Konoha forces returned, Kitsuchi had come with them, worried about his father's safety. 'Honestly, what's the point?' Takeshi mused, watching from a tree branch. 'If Konoha really wanted to harm Onoki, one more Kitsuchi wouldn't make a difference. It would just mean another ransom to pay.'
His thoughts wandered. He saw Minato walking below and knew he was probably coming to talk to him. A confrontation was inevitable sooner or later. 'Still, establishing my own territory is a necessary step for a cat like me. There are too many things I can't handle from within Konoha.'
He leaped down from the branch and approached Minato directly.
At first, Minato didn't understand. He thought Takeshi was leaving Konoha because he had taken the Third Raikage's words to heart. But once Takeshi explained his plan to re-establish a Holy Land for ninja cats, Minato looked visibly relieved. The great weight in his chest lifted.
'Leaving to re-establish his Holy Land?' Minato thought. 'That's a major step for him. Of course, I should support it.'
With so much work piling up back in the village, the entire Konoha force couldn't afford to wait for Onoki to heal. After a night's rest, a portion of the shinobi would head back. Takeshi wasn't scheduled to leave with the first group. It didn't really matter to him, but staying at the camp with nothing to do was getting tedious.
'For the past day, I've been tempted to just break Onoki's back for good,' he grumbled to himself. 'If that stubborn old bastard had just agreed to come to Konoha, we'd all be home by now.'
If Tsunade hadn't stopped him... and if it weren't for the money.
The main problem was the money. Thirty million ryo hadn't arrived yet. That kind of cash could fund a lot of projects, like getting Kabuto to research medicines and ninjutsu for the cat clan. Nono could be put to good use, too.
'I helped them get rid of Danzo and all the trouble he caused. The least they can do is help me develop some medicine and make cat food, right? Besides, selling cat food could be a win-win for everyone.'
Of course, Takeshi had no interest in managing any of it himself. He just wanted a nice place to live where he could lie around and collect dividends. If it weren't for that bastard Madara still clinging to life, he could just sleep all day.
'If I just knew where Madara's hideout was, I'd toss an Explosion Release clone in there every single day just to annoy him. Think of all the Points that would get me.'
Unfortunately, even with his memories from a past life, he couldn't recall the exact location. It was somewhere near Kannabi Bridge, but that was a huge area. Who the hell knew where the actual hideout was?
He mulled it over and decided to ask someone who might know the region. With that thought, the black cat hopped down from the tree. He didn't bother looking for Onoki or Kitsuchi, it would be a miracle if they could help. For something like this, he needed Jiraiya. The man wasn't just a master of writing those novels of his, he actually knew a thing or two about geography, especially around the Land of Earth. After clashing with Iwa for so long, no one knew the area better.
Jiraiya had been quite diligent lately. Takeshi wasn't sure what he was up to, but when he found him, Jiraiya was scribbling furiously, completely lost in his work. Peeking over his shoulder, Takeshi could make out phrases like "flat-chested hag" and "gambling addict."
'Pathetic,' he thought, watching from a nearby branch. 'Every word just screams "debt collection." This is what being broke does to a man.'
Takeshi, on the other hand, had at least forty or fifty million ryo on hand after his dealings with Kirigakure. The million or so Jiraiya made from his first book was just pocket change.
"Who's there?"
As the black cat moved closer, Jiraiya's head snapped up, his eyes immediately wary.
'Is he going to cause trouble again?' Jiraiya seemed to think, his posture tense.
"Relax," Takeshi said, jumping down but keeping a safe distance. 'This guy might have set traps.' "I'm not here to cause trouble. I just have a question for you, meow."
"What is it?" Jiraiya asked, folding up his manuscript.
The black cat was speechless. 'Unbelievable. Does he really think I'd tear up my own money? That's ridiculous.' Seeing that Jiraiya seemed a bit down, however, he decided to let it slide.
"Do you know about Kannabi Bridge, meow?"
"Kannabi Bridge?" Jiraiya paused, looking puzzled. The name was familiar, it was a major thoroughfare in the Land of Earth. All supplies from the interior to the front lines had to pass over it. He'd even considered sending an Uchiha to destroy it at one point.
He thought for a moment before answering. "It's an important bridge in the Land of Earth. It serves as a supply route for Iwa ninja and a trade route between our two countries. What are you planning? You're not thinking of blowing it up, are you?"
"Not exactly," Takeshi lied smoothly. "I was just thinking of bombing the area around it. Cause a little destruction to encourage Onoki to go home sooner." First, he'd get the directions. Later, he could start searching the area for Madara.
"Don't cause trouble," Jiraiya said, his tone serious. "Peace is what's important right now." For all his flaws, Jiraiya was principled when it came to serious matters. "Iwa has already surrendered. If you go destroying their territory, Onoki will hold a grudge against Konoha, and that will cause problems for years to come. We need to keep the peace, even if it's only temporary."
"I'm just asking for the location, meow."
"Alright," Jiraiya sighed. "But don't do anything reckless. If you do, I'll do everything in my power to stop you, whether I'm a match for you or not."
The black cat nodded in agreement.
Jiraiya then sketched out a crude map. It was sloppy, but it showed the key routes in the Land of Earth, with Kannabi Bridge circled. Takeshi studied it carefully, memorizing the location.
'First, I'll have the cats scout the area,' he planned. 'Finding Madara's hideout won't be easy. If it was, someone would have stumbled upon it by now. For now, I'm just confirming the location. I won't go wandering over there myself until I'm strong enough to win.'
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