Did the Uchiha clan raise ninja cats?
A question popped into Akaba's mind. What he knew about the Uchiha mainly revolved around their iconic fan symbol, Fire Release techniques, and their notoriously arrogant attitude.
As for ninja cats, he vaguely recalled—weren't there some stories mentioning the Uchiha's ninja cats?
Well, might as well go ask.
Though the idea of getting a ninja cat was spontaneous, little Kyoyuki would be coming home soon, so he needed to prepare some gifts.
A ninja cat actually sounded perfect.
Motonami Uchiha owed him a debt of gratitude. If they truly raised ninja cats, Akaba felt sure they wouldn't refuse his request.
Arriving at the Military Police headquarters,
Motonami Uchiha wasn't there—he seemed to be conducting research elsewhere. But upon hearing that Akaba wanted to see him, members of the Uchiha clan immediately sent someone to notify him.
After waiting a few minutes, Motonami finally returned.
Akaba explained his request, and Motonami thought for a few seconds before replying, "Our clan does indeed have a connection with ninja cats. But it's not based on a summoning contract—it's more of a mutual alliance."
"A mutual alliance?"
Akaba had some vague impression of this.
"That's right. Those ninja cats gather in a place called the Cat Demon Temple. They provide us intelligence, while we supply them with food and funds. We get along well enough, but capturing one to keep as a pet could prove difficult."
Motonami looked slightly troubled.
Akiba had helped the Uchiha clan many times before. This was an unusual occasion when he had come asking personally, yet the family couldn't fulfill this small request—it somewhat damaged their pride.
"I see. But if one earns the ninja cat's approval and it chooses to follow voluntarily, then there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Exactly. If you want one, I can personally take you there."
Motonami nodded.
"Not for me—I wanted one for my younger sister. But in that case, I should bring her along first."
Akaba scratched his head.
Originally planning it as a surprise, now he had to tell Uzumaki Kyoyuki beforehand. He wasn't even sure if Mito Uzumaki would let her go.
If she refused, he'd have to give up on this attempt for now.
Just as Akaba predicted, Mito Uzumaki indeed opposed little Kyoyuki leaving the village. For the young girl right now, both ninja cats and the outside world were far too dangerous.
However—
"Grandma, I want to go! I want a cat!"
Little Kyoyuki clung tightly to Mito's hand, pleading cutely. Behind her, the Cat Puppet bounced around wildly because its master was so excited, looking kind of silly.
Sighing softly, Mito said, "Ah, I really don't know what to do with you."
She then took out a sealing scroll, made a series of Hand Seals, and sliced off a strand of sinister, terrifying Red Chakra.
But in the next instant, that chakra was sealed within the scroll, emitting only a faint trace. Folded neatly, the tiny sealing scroll practically resembled a lucky charm.
"This is Nine-Tails Chakra?"
Taking a deep breath, Akaba couldn't help feeling excited—Nine-Tails Chakra was incredibly valuable stuff.
Handing the scroll to Uzumaki Kyoyuki, Mito said, "This should help earn the ninja cat's favor. And if danger arises, just break the seal. You've already learned the jutsu—I hope you remember it?"
"Mm-hmm!"
Uzumaki Kyoyuki nodded firmly.
Akaba heard this and was momentarily taken aback, finally understanding after a few seconds.
The Nine-Tails' chakra was incredibly powerful. Not only could ordinary ninja cats not withstand its presence, even regular summoning beasts might struggle with it.
Just this amount of chakra alone would be enough to intimidate ninja cats.
Although the Cat Demon Temple had some stronger ninja cats, without experienced guidance or training, they should still be able to capture at least one under the pressure of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Still, the Nine-Tails' chakra... how tempting!
Akaba took a deep breath to conceal his emotions before turning toward Mito Uzumaki. "Then I'll protect Kyoyuki while she catches one."
"No need. She'll be fine under Motonami Uchiha's protection."
Mito Uzumaki responded indifferently. "Kyoyuki, a ninja must learn independence. If you truly want to obtain a ninja cat, you must have the determination to accomplish it yourself."
"Yes, I understand!"
Uzumaki Kyoyuki replied with determination.
She naturally understood this principle – relying too much on others would never make her a real ninja, especially not now that Mito had already done far more than enough to help.
After thinking for a moment, Akaba decided not to insist further.
A ninja who constantly relied on others would ultimately become nothing more than a useless ornament. Although he didn't hope for his sister becoming a ninja, due to her physical constitution that made her the most suitable Jinchuriki of this generation in the Uzumaki clan, she seemed unable to escape her destiny as a ninja.
If that were the case, then she should grow stronger!
As she left, Akaba watched with mixed feelings and couldn't help feeling envious. Secretly, he thought, "If only I could obtain the Nine-Tails' chakra..."
"You desire the Nine-Tails' chakra?"
Mito Uzumaki sat upright, wearing a slight smile.
Huh?
Akaba felt somewhat uneasy. Why did she know what he was thinking?
No, it must've just been a coincidence.
He inhaled deeply to steady himself. What was Mito thinking by asking something like that?
"You're just like Danzo – always overthinking things before answering! Why can't you just say what's on your mind?"
Mito Uzumaki couldn't help but complain.
"I don't want the Nine-Tails itself, but I do want its chakra," Akaba carefully replied.
The Nine-Tails' chakra was indeed a good thing, but the Nine-Tails itself was a dangerous burden – only someone destined for greatness could truly wield it, and he knew he wasn't worthy.
"..."
Mito Uzumaki's expression darkened slightly.
Dead brat, thinking he can claim something so great – wanting the chakra yet rejecting the fox? Where in the world could he find such fortune?
**"Damn brat, I'll tear him apart!"**
Inside Mito Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails roared furiously.
Finally making up its mind to generously reconcile with them, only to face such an attitude – it absolutely infuriated the beast!
"Grandma Mito, is something wrong?"
"Forget it. You may go now."
Waving dismissively, Mito Uzumaki irritably urged Akaba to leave quickly.
Though disappointed, Akaba didn't hesitate and dashed out of the house. Though the power of a Jinchuriki was formidable, during this era, Jinchurikis were practically prisoners.
Furthermore, outside, Black Zetsu and Madara were already keeping an eye on them – completely untouchable enemies!
Leaving the Senju clan, Akaba hesitated for a moment before making a Shadow Clone to tail Motonami Uchiha and Uzumaki Kyoyuki.
In the end, he remained concerned – but silently observing from the shadows should suffice.
As for his original body, someone had to complete the updates.
When a clone went out to work, he would either generate a new Shadow Clone or personally take over the task himself. Akaba had never tried having three clones working simultaneously before.
However, with one clone already assigned to protect Uzumaki Kyoyuki, he dared not risk it and could only do the work himself. Between updating One Piece and Naruto, he eventually sent another clone to handle the One Piece update.
The update of One Piece had reached the part where Tony Tony Chopper joined.
Faced with these two tasks, Akaba naturally opted for the Naruto update. With his current physical condition and drawing speed, five chapters weren't too bad—he could knock them out in two or three hours without breaking a sweat.
If he added in extra polish and some colored panels, it'd take a bit longer, but not by much. By afternoon, he still completed all his tasks.
Meanwhile, feedback arrived from the Shadow Clone.
Uzumaki Kyoyuki had followed Motonami Uchiha to the Cat Demon Temple and obtained a Ninja Cat!
Although the Cat Demon Temple sounded grand, it was actually just war ruins. Some stray cats gathered beneath the town's wreckage and gradually gained extraordinary beastly powers.
Because of their independent personalities, these Ninja Cats resisted discipline. They resembled ninja more than pets or tamed beasts.
An ordinary genin truly wouldn't stand a chance against those Ninja Cats. However, they encountered the most talented girl from the Uzumaki clan. With her Sealing Techniques and the Cat Puppet at hand, she made quite the game of putting them through their paces.
After quite a struggle, plus the intimidation of Nine-Tails chakra, she finally subdued a white Ninja Cat.
It was a rare dual-tailed cat, which Kyoyuki later named Ni Bai ("Second White").
Da Bai was the Cat Puppet.
However, Ni Bai had nothing to do with the Two-Tails Matatabi; it was simply a rather rare Ninja Cat.
Knowing his younger sister had safely obtained her Ninja Cat, Akaba felt reassured. After organizing the basic guidelines for raising Beast Companions provided by the Inuzuka clan, he conveniently exchanged for the system-listed Beast Companion Raising Technique from the available list.
The required points were minimal—only ten points.
The next day, little Kyoyuki brought Ni Bai home, so Akaba wrote down the acquired Beast Companion Raising Technique as a gift for her.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to spend time with his younger sister today—she hadn't been back home in a while.
A message came through from Anbu.
It likely related to that ninja from the Hozuki clan. Over the past couple of days, the Yamanaka clan probably had cooperated with Anbu to extract some secrets during interrogation.
Yet upon arriving at Anbu headquarters, Akaba discovered that Hozuki Ryoma remained asleep. This definitely didn't appear like a situation involving confession or successful interrogation.
Moreover, the Third, Danzo, Motonami Uchiha, and the leader of the Yamanaka clan were all present here.
"Hokage-sama, Teacher."
"No need for formalities. Let's get straight to business. Akaba, I want you and Jonin Motonami to use hypnotic abilities together for subconscious guidance. Meanwhile, the Sealing Team will assist in breaking any information seals inside his mind."
Danzo stated directly.
"No problem."
Hypnosis was indeed part of Genjutsu techniques. Plus, Akaba possessed a convenient method—he called forth Yumekuma and let it shape and guide the dreamscape according to his will.
Zhi Meng, seeing so many people around, understood this was serious business and obediently assisted Akaba and Motonami Uchiha in guiding Hozuki Ryoma's subconscious, easing his resistance to outside influence.
In fact, part of the information had already been cracked by Anbu—this was how Akaba's Flying Thunder God technique had been exposed.
However, deeper layers of information remained inaccessible. Forcibly extracting it might cause Hozuki Ryoma's death, which was definitely not what Danzo wanted.
After some discussion, they arrived at the current plan.
Several minutes later, under the combined guidance of Akaba, Yumekuma, and Motonami Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan, Hozuki Ryoma finally relaxed his instinctive defenses, and the sealing team removed the mental seals on his memories.
Then, the Yamanaka clan leader delved into all of his memories.
"They're a three-man squad. One of them possesses 'Kiba', the chakra weapon carefully crafted by Kiri. However, their objective wasn't assassination—it was to paralyze and knock out Akaba and then take him to the Water Country."
"Wait, what?"
Akaba was somewhat stunned. So it wasn't about killing him—it was about taking him alive.
"The reason, although we can't confirm how true it actually is," the Yamanaka clan head continued, "is that the Daimyo read a manga and believed Devil Fruits really exist. Meanwhile, the Mizukage thinks you possess many secrets about Hidden Leaf. Capturing you would mean obtaining valuable intelligence on Hidden Leaf. Thus, the two sides reached an agreement and dispatched an assassination squad."
Even the Yamanaka clan leader himself seemed to find the explanation rather absurd, pausing for a few seconds mid-sentence.
Akaba remained silent for several seconds.
He could almost forgive the Water Daimyo—likely just another eccentric noble—but something about the Mizukage's motives still didn't sit right.
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