Chapter 2 — Shinji Hirako, Reporting to My Lord!
"Collect!"
[Collection successful. Would you like to initiate a request?]
A trace of anticipation surfaced in Shiraishi's eyes.
Given Uchiha Shisui's traits, among the countless worlds, who exactly would respond to this request?
And after the responder answered, what kind of abilities would the selected ninja cat obtain?
How strong would it become?
And most importantly—what kind of reward would he receive?
"Proceed with the request!"
[You have sent a request to the myriad worlds. In the vast universe, countless gazes turned toward you. An existence named Shinji Hirako has responded to your request.]
[You have obtained an A-rank response.]
The very next instant—
A sphere of pure white light appeared in Shiraishi's hand.
"Shinji Hirako…"
Shiraishi recalled the information related to this character.
In the world of Bleach, Shinji Hirako did not have many appearances, and his battle record was far from outstanding. Even so, he was still a captain-level figure, and more importantly, the ability of his Zanpakutō was extremely interesting.
After releasing its Shikai, the blade would emit a fragrance. Anyone who inhaled it would have their senses completely inverted—up and down, left and right, front and back, the direction of their attacks, as well as the direction from which they were attacked, would all be reversed.
As for Bankai, this ability was pushed to the absolute extreme—so much so that even cognition itself would be altered.
However, this power did not distinguish between allies and enemies.
Because of that, the conditions for its use were rather harsh.
But in the right situation, it could absolutely unleash terrifying effectiveness.
One man alone could become an entire army.
"Because Uchiha Shisui specializes in genjutsu, the responder is also someone proficient in illusion-based abilities, huh?"
"Moreover, the two of them are similar in certain aspects."
"In the original timeline, both were harmed by their own people."
"Shinji Hirako was framed by his own vice-captain, while Uchiha Shisui was ambushed by Danzō Shimura."
"Both stood in complicated and tragic positions."
"Perhaps that's exactly why Shinji Hirako responded to Uchiha Shisui's traits."
"Still, I don't yet know what this A-rank actually represents."
Shiraishi shifted his gaze toward the many ninja cats not far away.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the white sphere of light toward them. However, most of the ninja cats seemed unable to see the white light at all—they could only see Shiraishi's throwing motion.
After realizing that nothing had been thrown, they quickly lost interest.
Only a single small orange-striped cat noticed the white sphere.
It was an orange cat—not the chubby kind, but rather slender and long-bodied. In its usual state, it looked somewhat lazy, yet its eyes often revealed a sharp, cunning intelligence.
Drawn by the white sphere of light, the orange cat pounced forward.
The moment it made contact, the white sphere instantly merged into the cat's body.
The next second—
A burst of white light erupted violently from the orange cat, completely enveloping it and forming a cocoon. Not long after, a crack appeared on the surface of the cocoon.
"Crack!"
A figure broke free from within.
It was still an orange cat—
But not the same one as before.
This one walked upright on two legs and wore clothes. It looked somewhat like Puss in Boots, yet its outfit bore a resemblance to the Shihakushō from the world of Bleach.
The aura it emitted was also faintly similar to that of Shinji Hirako himself.
Within the Uchiha compound, ninja cats were divided into two types.
One type consisted of immature ninja cats, which were almost no different from ordinary cats, aside from having stronger physiques and higher intelligence.
The other type was made up of mature ninja cats—these could speak human language, wear clothes, and even use ninja tools.
They were roughly equivalent to the difference between the Inuzuka clan's ninja dogs and Kakashi's ninja dogs.
However, the orange cat before Shiraishi now resembled a human to an even greater degree than ordinary mature ninja cats.
"Shinji Hirako, reporting to my lord!"
Lines of text appeared beside Shinji Hirako.
[Name: Shinji Hirako (Cat)]
[Gender: Male]
[Strength: Elite Jōnin (Upgradeable)]
[Weapon: Sakanade (Shikai level)]
[Abilities: Temporal Inversion, Shunpo]
Shiraishi nodded slightly as he examined Shinji Hirako, unable to hide his excitement.
An elite jōnin–level ninja cat had already far exceeded his expectations.
And more importantly—this was only the beginning.
This ninja cat's strength could still be improved. And above elite jōnin lay the realm of Kage-level power, which already commanded a certain status in this world.
A Kage-level ninja—even in the era of the Fourth Great Ninja War, where jōnin were everywhere—could still perform exceptionally well.
For Shiraishi, with Shinji Hirako's appearance, he now barely possessed a certain degree of self-preservation ability.
An elite jōnin who obeyed his every command—so long as a Kage-level ninja did not personally target him, or multiple elite jōnin attacked together, he would not be in much danger.
And this was only his first ninja cat.
Once he collected more favorability from humans, he would be able to obtain more ninja cats.
When that time came, just how strong would his overall power become?
"As long as I have enough ninja cats, the Night of the Massacre won't threaten me. Even if it still happens, I can survive it safely."
Immediately after, another voice echoed within Shiraishi's mind.
[You have successfully cultivated a ninja cat and obtained a reward. Would you like to claim it?]
Shiraishi did not hesitate at all.
"Claim it!"
[You have obtained one enhancement!]
A surge of power flowed into Shiraishi's body.
He clearly felt the amount of chakra within him increase, and that power continued to surge toward his eyes, gathering within them.
The next moment—
A flash of red appeared in Shiraishi's eyes.
A single tomoe slowly rotated beside his pupil.
"The Sharingan!"
Shiraishi walked up to a mirror, feeling a slight sense of emotion.
This body's natural talent was indeed rather mediocre. At thirteen years old, he had already graduated from the Ninja Academy for a year, yet he was still far from becoming a chūnin. Meanwhile, Uchiha Shisui, who was the same age, had already become an elite jōnin.
The title "Shunshin no Shisui" was known throughout the entire ninja world.
"Still, awakening the Sharingan at thirteen isn't considered late."
"Uchiha Madara also awakened his Sharingan in his teens."
"Madara had Indra's reincarnation backing him—but I'm not inferior either. The Ninja Cat Cultivation System is definitely stronger than Indra."
Shiraishi turned his gaze toward the ninja cats.
"Sharingan!"
Once activated, the sensation was completely different. His dynamic vision reached an extreme level, allowing him to capture countless details that he had never been able to perceive before. His observational ability skyrocketed.
"No wonder Uchiha ninja all experience a massive boost in strength after awakening the Sharingan."
"Just dynamic vision alone provides tremendous assistance."
"Not to mention the Sharingan-exclusive genjutsu that comes with it."
"At the very least, in terms of base attributes, I've finally reached around chūnin level."
"This is the change brought about by Shinji Hirako's appearance."
"Not bad."
"If a single enhancement can let me awaken the Sharingan, then after several more, my own strength might even reach Kage level—or perhaps beyond."
With a thought, Shiraishi deactivated his eyes. The tomoe disappeared, and his eyes returned to black. He then walked back to the chair from earlier, sat down, and leaned back slightly.
He began thinking about the next suitable target for increasing favorability.
Uchiha Shisui had already been his friend.
But Shiraishi didn't have many friends to begin with.
Just then, two costumer's approached the ninja tool shop.
One in front, one behind.
"Two explosive tags and a tachi."
The first ninja quickly stated his request upon entering.
"Alright, please wait a moment."
Shiraishi turned around and went into the storage room to retrieve the items.
After collecting the payment and storing it away, he looked toward the second figure entering the shop.
"Senior Shiraishi."
Dressed in standard ninja attire, with short black hair slightly longer than Shisui's and reaching his shoulders—he was nine years old today, yet his appearance seemed strangely mismatched with his age.
He looked… older.
Perhaps because he was already thinking about things far beyond what a child should concern himself with.
"Itachi, good morning."
"Senior Shiraishi, is Granny Cat not here?"
"She went on a long trip. During this period, I'm watching over the shop. If you need anything, just tell me and I'll fetch it from the storage room."
Uchiha Itachi shook his head.
"I'm here to look for Senior Shisui. I heard someone say he was at the ninja tool shop."
"Then your timing's unfortunate. Shisui just left not long ago—he came by to buy some tools."
"Do you know where Senior Shisui went?"
"I don't."
"I see. Thank you."
After saying that, Uchiha Itachi turned and left.
Shiraishi watched Itachi's retreating figure, his eyebrows lifting slightly. What surprised him was that Uchiha Itachi's favorability toward him had reached 66, which was already quite a high number.
That genuinely caught Shiraishi off guard.
The two of them hadn't interacted much, and they had only met a handful of times.
When Shiraishi was still in the Ninja Academy, Itachi hadn't enrolled yet.
When Itachi enrolled, Shiraishi was still in the Academy.
When Itachi graduated early, Shiraishi was still in the Academy.
If there was any connection between them, it was only through Uchiha Shisui.
Shiraishi was Shisui's friend, and Itachi was also Shisui's friend. Shiraishi believed that was likely the reason why Itachi held a favorability of 66 toward him.
"66 favorability… That's actually not far from 90. But this is Uchiha Itachi."
After thinking carefully, Shiraishi ultimately abandoned the idea of making Itachi his second target.
His impression of Uchiha Itachi was not good.
Although both were connected to the Uchiha massacre, in Shiraishi's eyes, Shisui's stance and Itachi's stance were fundamentally different.
Shisui held Konoha in his heart—but he also held the Uchiha.
As for Itachi, Shiraishi felt that Konoha occupied far too much of his heart.
The fact that Itachi slaughtered even ordinary, non-combatant members of the Uchiha clan was something Shiraishi could never accept.
If he truly feared a civil war and believed it would cause enormous losses to Konoha—and believed the radical faction of the Uchiha were the true culprits—then killing only the radicals would have been enough.
Afterward, he could have defected, bearing all the blame himself.
The conservative faction of the Uchiha would naturally direct most of their hatred toward Uchiha Itachi.
The conflict with the village would have eased accordingly.
Under those circumstances, Konoha's higher-ups wouldn't necessarily have insisted on exterminating the entire clan.
Furthermore, Itachi's excessive tendency to think independently made Shiraishi even more reluctant.
Such people only believe in conclusions they arrive at themselves. They trust only their own viewpoints, making them extremely difficult to persuade or influence.
Raising Itachi's favorability would be exceedingly difficult.
"My lord dislikes that person?"
Shinji Hirako walked up beside Shiraishi.
"You noticed?"
Shinji Hirako nodded.
"I'm rather sensitive in that regard."
Shiraishi nodded in response, recalling that in the world of Bleach, Shinji Hirako had been one of the earliest to notice something was wrong with Aizen. Perhaps this ninja cat version had inherited part of that talent.
"I do dislike him, somewhat."
"Should I monitor him for you?"
Shinji Hirako offered.
"No need for that."
Shiraishi shook his head and said, "You just focus on my safety. There's nothing else I need you to do for now. When other people are around, remember to restrain your presence."
"Yes, my lord."
Shinji Hirako returned to a corner.
The other ninja cats in the shop continued their usual routine.
Eat, sleep, sleep, eat.
Occasionally, when the mood struck, they would run outside to play, or gather around Shiraishi and lie down, exposing their warm, soft bellies with half-closed eyes.
A white cat jumped onto Shiraishi's lap and curled into a ball.
Time passed until noon.
Shiraishi took out the food Granny Cat had prepared for the ninja cats—a huge basin.
The cats crowded around it eagerly.
Meanwhile, Shiraishi left the Uchiha compound and headed toward Konoha's commercial district.
The aroma of ramen drifted into his nose.
"Shiraishi's here."
"Uncle Teuchi, Sister Ayame."
Shiraishi sat down at the counter.
"What would you like today, Shiraishi?"
"One tonkotsu ramen, extra portion."
"Alright, coming right up."
Soon, a bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. Shiraishi took a sip of the broth first, then picked up the noodles with his chopsticks and brought them to his mouth.
The same familiar taste as always.
But Shiraishi didn't come to Ichiraku Ramen just to eat.
He didn't have many friends, and even Itachi's 66 favorability was considered high. Since he came here often, he wanted to check whether these two had high enough favorability toward him.
While eating his ramen, Shiraishi glanced toward Teuchi and Ayame—Ayame being Teuchi's daughter.
Lines of text appeared above Teuchi's head.
[76 — Anyone who likes ramen can't be a bad person.]
"76 favorability… That's not bad. But judging someone's character based solely on whether they like ramen—isn't that a bit too arbitrary?"
Then Shiraishi looked toward Ayame, but what he read almost made him cough out water.
[85 — Shiraishi is a gentle, handsome, and mature little brother. In the future, he will surely become a good husband.)