Chương 39: Fantastic Beasts of the Shinobi World

It took roughly three hours. Before noon had even arrived, the mission was completed, though not perfectly. Inside the oversized metal cage, nineteen adult cats of various patterns were stuffed together. The ratio of males to females was roughly equal; it seemed these intelligent "kitties" were much like humans—regardless of gender, they all enjoyed wandering around outside. Dongye Zhen and Hayate Gekko were completely unscathed, but Yugao Uzuki had several scratch marks on her hands and face.

Fortunately, these were Ninja Cats, not wild ones, and they had shown some restraint. Although her strength wasn't quite on par with her two teammates, she wasn't weak either; it simply served as proof that those little chakra-wielding creatures were truly a handful. Zhen's hands glowed with green chakra. As Yugao experienced the benefits of having a medical ninja on the team, she asked curiously, "Sensei, is it really alright that we only caught nineteen?

The village won't judge the mission as a failure, will they? I don't want to fail the very first mission of my ninja career." Yunmi Gekko didn't answer her directly. Instead, he looked at Zhen.

"Zhen, are you certain you searched every location in Konoha where cats might gather?"

"Yes, Sensei. I'm certain. In fact, we finished in under two hours. We spent the remaining time double-checking residential homes to make sure no pet cats were missed." Yunmi nodded.

"Then it's fine. The mission requirement was to capture all members of the Ninja Cat clan within Konoha who aren't under contract with a shinobi. No one can guarantee they are all currently inside the village. They are Ninja Cats, after all; they move fast. There are other towns and villages surrounding Konoha. The remaining few little ones likely wandered off elsewhere." Since the leading Jonin put it that way, the three had nothing more to say. He was the boss; what he said went. In truth, it was understandable.

The real world isn't a game; mission targets don't just stand around waiting to be caught. Ordinary cats are already notorious street-wanderers, let alone these troublesome Ninja Cats whose intelligence is indistinguishable from humans. Just look at how these bastards were behaving. If Team 3 were a stray cat shelter from Zhen's previous life and these were ordinary cats, they would only be doing one thing: hissing like old curmudgeons. Unfortunately, this was the shinobi world, and the cage was full of Ninja Cats.

As Zhen and Hayate carried the cage toward the mission office, one on each side, the little creatures inside stared intensely at the four of them with resentful, displeased eyes. It was as if they were saying, This isn't over. Once I get out, I'm definitely scratching your faces off. What a mysterious shinobi world. What does it feel like to be stared at with human-like expressions by a group of intelligent cats? Zhen felt it was quite bizarre. Are these things really not yōkai?

Most importantly, a few of them could actually speak human tongue. A black cat near Zhen had been chattering incessantly.

"Damnable human, meow! Unforgivable! You ruined my date, you bastard! I was just about to pounce on that beautiful little cutie. It's all your fault! All your fault! I'm so furious! My love... it ended before it even began!" As it spoke, it extended its sharp claws, attempting to leave a few bloody tracks on the back of Zhen's hand.

"Shut up. You call that love? You're just lusting after her body. You're pathetic!"

"I am lusting after her body, so what? Is there a problem with that?" It was Zhen's first time seeing a cat be so shameless.

"I mean, you guys are Ninja Cats, right? Shouldn't you look at ordinary cats the same way we humans look at monkeys? You can actually bring yourself to do that?" This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"That's totally different! We look exactly the same! Our aesthetics are identical, and there's no reproductive isolation. But can you go and have little monkeys with a female monkey?"

"Eh? Wait... that actually makes sense! You're surprisingly well-educated, you bastard."

"See? See? It makes sense, right? Then hurry up and let me out!"

"You wish."

"Bastard!"

"Keep making noise and I'll have you neutered. That goes for all of you. If anyone isn't satisfied, I'll send you straight to the hospital. I'll even pay for the surgery!" These words were like a Tailed Beast Bomb exploding in their hearts. Every Ninja Cat was instantly terrified into silence. Hayate Gekko and Yugao Uzuki took note: Got it. This is the way to deal with Ninja Cats. It works wonders. A mysterious world.

Not only were there Ninja Cats with human-like minds, but also clever dogs, and talking toads, snakes, slugs, lizards, and so on. Unfortunately, cats and dogs—the species best suited to be pets—weren't very willing to be pets once they gained intelligence. They viewed themselves as equals to humans. Want to fight together? Sign a contract first. Ninja Hounds mostly come from Konoha's Inuzuka clan. They consider Ninja Hounds to be combat partners.

If you dare treat one as a mere pet, the dog really will go back to its clan and file a complaint. Then, you can expect to be hunted by a pack of humans and dogs. The Ninja Cat clan was even more ridiculous. They are independent and incredibly haughty. They all live leisurely lives in Sora-ku and treat everyone with cold indifference. Only the equally arrogant Uchiha clan could tolerate them. A pity, Zhen thought, shaking his head.

These guys were intelligent and could speak after training, but unfortunately, they couldn't transform. Otherwise, one could see the legendary cat-girls and dog-girls. A furry fan's dream. Of course, Zhen was a proper ninja; he certainly wasn't a "furry fan." Don't misunderstand; he was just curious and wanted to see things he hadn't seen before. In fact, Zhen knew exactly where to find humanoid ninja beasts. They were all in Ryuchi Cave.

There were four of them; aside from the old hag, the remaining Three Snake Princesses were all great beauties with "moist" looks. Unfortunately, Zhen had no interest. The thought of them suddenly reverting to their true forms during a "deep exchange" made him fear he'd be impotent for life. There are snake demons in this world, but alas, he wasn't Xu Xian. Walking at the rear, Yugao Uzuki noticed Zhen occasionally glancing at the Ninja Cats in the cage. For some reason, her warning radar suddenly went off.

"Zhen-niisan, I feel like you're thinking about something bad."

"Ah?" Zhen was startled and immediately retorted, "How is that possible? What bad things could I be thinking about?"

"Really? I don't believe you!"

"It's true! I just think the Ninja Cats are quite cute. If they could transform into human forms while keeping their ears and tails... don't you think they'd be even cuter?" The Gekko father and son looked at each other, and an image suddenly formed in their minds. That actually sounds quite worth seeing. As expected of a genius like Zhen; even his thoughts are so avant-garde. The male cats were confused. Yugao and the female cats: "Pervert!"

Ultimately, the mission was completed, ensuring Team 3's first D-rank mission didn't end in failure. The staff at the mission desk didn't say much; perhaps they had anticipated this situation, or perhaps Sora-ku didn't actually require every single cat to be returned. Following that, the trio completed three other commissions, finishing their quota for the day. Yunmi Gekko was right—the missions were specifically chosen. Today was a test of their intelligence gathering and tracking abilities.

Naturally, Zhen's sensory skills were factored into the calculation. On the second day, all four missions were identical: repairing four small-to-medium-sized training grounds within the village. This included leveling the ground, cutting and hauling away dead branches, replacing thick logs used for punching practice, and binding them with fresh hemp rope. The most troublesome part was updating the wooden targets scattered throughout the forest, clearing abandoned traps, and recovering wires and hidden weapons.

The requirement was no jumping—only walking on the trees. Clearly, this was a test of the team's chakra control. Fortunately, for the three who had long since begun training, it wasn't difficult. On the third day, there were again four identical missions: cleaning trash from four sections of the rivers within Konoha's territory. Each section was of a fixed length and counted as one D-rank mission. This was also a test of chakra control, requiring them to walk on water.

Yunmi Gekko's selection of missions was highly targeted. Or rather, Konoha posted these tasks—which served as training for basic ninja skills—as D-rank missions intentionally. This allowed Genin to refine their basics while completing simple work, earning money, and improving Konoha's environment. It was killing multiple birds with one stone. As for why a certain someone wouldn't point out these basics to Naruto and the other members of Team 7 in the future... one could only say that someone got lazy.

All he knew was how to read those smutty little books. I won't say who was being lazy!