hotmtlnovel Chapter 31 Cat Country
Chapter 31 Cat Country
Chapter 31 Cat Country
After receiving sponsorship from the businessman Ando, the Akatsuki's finances improved considerably in a short period of time, and they were able to afford the dried fish, Shiba Kiyokawa.
At worst, he could go fishing; the Land of Rain has abundant rainfall and many rivers and lakes.
After a few days of feeding, the bond between the ninja cat Tama and Shiba Kiyokawa deepened rapidly.
Three days later, while Shiba Kiyokawa was handling official business, Tama was even willing to quietly lie on Kiyokawa's lap, letting him pet her and enjoying the pleasure of petting a cat.
This made the other members of the Akatsuki extremely envious.
After Shiba Kiyokawa, many people tried to sign their names on the Cat Village Summoning Scroll, but unfortunately, no one else was able to gain the recognition of the ninja cats like Shiba Kiyokawa.
Even the hydrangea, which was skilled in psychic arts, failed.
After she signed her name, she summoned a chubby orange cat.
Unexpectedly, the seemingly chubby orange cat turned out to be incredibly agile in battle, using two short wakizashi to utterly defeat Hydrangea, leaving her questioning her existence.
Finally, he left out the words, "Your taijutsu is weak, your ninja tools are not good, your footwork is loose, and your reaction is slow. Not a single movement of yours is decent!"
"A ninja like you dares to dream of being my master? Keep dreaming!"
Then it disappeared with a "bang," erasing the name of the hydrangea written on the scroll.
Ziyanghua could only sit slumped on the training field, heartbroken and questioning the meaning of life.
A week later, only Shiba Kiyokawa from the entire Akatsuki organization had successfully formed a contract with a ninja cat.
It made everyone both envious and admiring.
In the end, they could only sigh in unison, "Truly worthy of being Captain Qinghe."
Eventually, no one had the courage to try anymore, so Xiaoyu suggested to Shiba Kiyokawa, "Master, why don't you keep the scroll safe?"
Shiba Kiyokawa asked curiously, "I've already signed it, what's the point of this scroll?"
Xiaoyu explained, "Whether or not you have the scroll doesn't affect your ability to summon me, but if you want to go to the Cat Country in the future, the cats there might not be willing to receive you without the contract scroll."
Shiba Kiyokawa then realized what was going on and asked, "You've mentioned the Cat Country several times, what exactly is that place?"
Is it also a sacred place? But I don't recall the original work mentioning any sacred place related to ninja cats.
Shiba Kiyokawa only remembered three sacred sites: Shikkotsu Forest, Ryuchi Cave, and Mount Myoboku.
Xiaoyu replied, "Cat Village is our cats' hometown, meow~ We've been welcoming ninjas we recognize there for many years, meow~"
Intrigued, Shiba Kiyokawa asked, "Can I go take a look?"
"Sure, meow~ You can go using reverse spirit summoning~"
Then Shiba Kiyokawa went to the warehouse to get the spirit scroll.
Since almost all the members of the organization had already tried and failed, Yahiko stopped trying and readily handed the scroll to Shiba Kiyokawa.
Afterwards, Shiba Kiyokawa formed the hand seals for the Reverse Summoning Technique.
With a "bang".
He disappeared from the spot.
When the white smoke in front of him dissipated, he found himself in a quiet little mountain village.
This place looks like a beautiful paradise, with green mountains, fertile land, crisscrossing paths, and small houses dotting the landscape.
There are two types of houses here. One type is for the ninja cats themselves. It is very short and small, with the rooms next to each other like stacked cardboard boxes.
Shiba Kiyokawa even saw some ninja cats actually nestled in a discarded cardboard box on a tree branch, taking a comfortable nap.
This reminded Shiba Kiyoka of his past life's experience of raising cats—the cat bed he bought for a lot of money was not popular, but the cardboard boxes left over from unpacking express delivery became the cat's favorite happy little nest.
The other type of house here is clearly designed for human habitation, with its height and size being no different from those outside.
"This is the land of cats, meow~ We provide everything you ninjas need here, meow~"
Following Xiaoyu's introduction, Shiba Kiyokawa looked around and found that the surrounding shops covered almost all the needs of ninjas.
There are ninja tool shops, pharmacies, tailor shops selling ninja vests, and food shops selling soldier rations.
There was even a commission agency, which seemed to help ninjas find mission commissions, but Shiba Kiyokawa didn't go in to take a closer look.
"You cats really have a wide range of businesses," he remarked, then randomly picked the nearest ninja tool shop and went inside.
The shop owner was a large, somewhat ferocious-looking gray cat with one eye covered by a scar, its remaining single eye piercing sharply at Shiba Kiyokawa as he entered.
However, after noticing the summoning contract scroll on Shiba Kiyokawa's waist, the shopkeeper Gray Cat's expression softened noticeably.
"Feel free to look around, guest. We accept ninja world currency and silver notes here."
"Can I pay with dried fish?"
The gray cat shopkeeper gave him a "Are you kidding me?" look.
Okay. Only then did Shiba Kiyokawa realize that his gluttonous Tama was probably an exception in the cat village.
Shiba Kiyokawa picked up a few ninja tools and examined them.
To his surprise, the ninja tools here were of very good quality, in no way inferior to the spoils they had seized from ninjas in the great ninja villages.
Shiba Kiyokawa instantly realized: He might have discovered another treasure!
This place might become an important logistical supply route for the Land of Rain in the future! A key factor in the rise of the Rain Village!
He suppressed his excitement and then asked the gray cat shopkeeper, "Excuse me, are there any shops around here that sell ninja scrolls?"
While ninja tools and supplies are important, they are not what the Akatsuki organization urgently needs right now.
As ninjas from a small country, what they lack most right now is actually their reserve of ninjutsu, or what is known as their foundation!
Nagato and Konan's abilities are "innate" and cannot be taught to others, and Shiba Kiyokawa's insights are not so easy to pass on.
While improving one's own strength is important, given the opportunity, Shiba Kiyokawa is also willing to cultivate his own team and resources.
The gray cat shopkeeper narrowed his one eye and spoke after a long while.
"You're quite the bold contractor. Cat Village wouldn't dare to accept this kind of request so casually. You should know that many ninja clans take the secrecy and inheritance of ninjutsu very seriously."
Shiba Kiyokawa was not in a hurry.
Because he could tell from the store manager's tone that there was likely more to come.
Sure enough, the shopkeeper Gray Cat changed the subject the next time he spoke.
"However, while we can't sell you ninjutsu directly, we can help you connect with other contractors in the Cat Village. You can negotiate the subsequent transactions yourselves; we'll only charge a basic intermediary fee."
"No problem, thank you so much, store manager."
Shiba Kiyokawa tactfully handed over some dried fish.
To everyone's surprise, the store manager looked disgusted.
"Don't you like it?" Shiba Kiyokawa had no choice but to hand the dried fish to his own daughter, Tama.
Even though she had just eaten lunch, Xiaoyu still accepted everything offered, happily slurping up each piece while meowing contentedly.
The gray cat shopkeeper's beard trembled, his face filled with the helplessness of "Whose kid is this, with such meager potential?"
"Come with me."
The gray cat shopkeeper led them to the back of the shop.
As soon as he turned the corner, Shiba Kiyokawa realized that there was someone in the room in front of him.
The other person noticed him almost simultaneously and asked, "Oh? Manager, are there any other customers here today?"
The shopkeeper, Grey Cat, opened the door and said to the people inside, "Ah Shui, I have a customer to introduce to you."
The moment the door opened, Shiba Kiyokawa was caught off guard and froze on the spot.
Today has been full of surprises!
He recognized the ninja in the room at a glance.
That was actually—Uchiha Shisui!
(End of this chapter)