[Mad Tiger] Chapter 56

Thank the feline gods, my Sasuke didn't completely lose it from having his entire reality rearranged. But damn, I only just now realized how recklessly I’d been walking the edge of disaster this whole time. And to top it off, I felt kind of guilty. Guilty for all the times I ranted at the screen back when I watched the anime, calling Sasuke an idiot, a traitor—how could he do that?! And now? Now I didn’t even know what to do.

The guy was barely breathing, sobbing into my fur, but—somehow—I was the only one he believed. Maybe a cat’s word was like a bug in the system, slipping through the cracks in his manipulated memories. Or maybe it just hadn’t fully settled in his brain yet, all that forced rewriting of history.

Shisui had tactfully left to give him some space, while Naruto pretended everything was fine—busy tending the fire, not pushing his best friend, letting me take on the role of Emotional Support Cat. And damn, was I grateful Shisui had chosen to drop all this in digestible chunks, because if he'd hit Naruto with the where’s your mom, buddy? question, I’d probably be chasing after him through forests, fields, and rivers as he went full search-and-rescue mode. Or worse—who knew what else was planted in his head?

Sasuke eventually calmed down, just absently stroking my fur, his gaze fixed on the fire. Then, after a while, Shisui returned, carrying a massive bundle of firewood—though, unfortunately, all of it was soaked. Rain had started up again.

"Tell me about…" Sasuke hesitated, like the words wouldn’t form. Like his own mind was rejecting the name.

Naruto sat beside us, reaching out to pet me too, brushing against Sasuke’s hand in a silent show of support.

"I was presumed dead," Shisui continued. "Staying in the village was too dangerous for me. And there were… other reasons. But I was also looking for Itachi. Eventually, I thought of Ryu and Grandma Cat. Your brother… even if he believed—" he exhaled, "—even if he truly thought he did it, there was always the chance he’d want to see you, just once. I know how he thinks. So I asked Grandma Cat to contact me if she ever received a request from Itachi. Or, if for any reason, you ended up here. After all, Itachi could have used his Sharingan to manipulate her perception. Didn’t this mission seem… strange to you?"

"Oh, you think?" Naruto snorted. "What’s weirder than getting a mission to take a giant cat’s paw print?"

"I… I had a feeling," Sasuke admitted quietly. "That it might be some kind of… challenge from Itachi. But I couldn’t figure out what he was trying to say. Or what he wanted to do. Or if it even came from him at all."

"I think he just wanted to make sure you were alive and okay," Shisui told him. "I don’t believe he has any intention of showing himself. This is probably just an excuse to confirm you’re safe—that you’ve officially become a shinobi. To be honest, I was also waiting for the day you got your headbands. It meant you’d finally have some degree of freedom outside Konoha’s walls during missions."

"And what do you plan to do? Capture Itachi or something?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"That’s the idea," Shisui smiled faintly. "I need to talk to him. But I doubt he’ll want to listen."

"He doesn’t trust you?" Naruto squinted, suspicious.

"He thinks I’m dead. And on top of that, I have no idea what’s been shoved into his head. I barely even know what’s been done to yours. You’ll have to fill me in so I can figure out how to approach him."

"Yeah," Sasuke said quietly.

The conversation stretched on deep into the night. Sasuke recounted his ‘memories’ to Shisui—though now, it was obvious those weren’t really his memories at all.

One key thing was missing: In the version of events he remembered, Itachi never spoke about his friend, never mentioned the Mangekyo Sharingan, never taunted Sasuke about gaining it through hatred. All Sasuke recalled was his brother stepping out of the darkness, eyes gleaming red, telling him he was too weak to even be worth killing.

Thinking back, I realized—when Itachi showed up during Jiraiya and Naruto’s search for Tsunade, that was probably when he finalized the ‘corrected’ version of events, reinforcing it with Tsukuyomi. Those gaps in memory? Sasuke had likely brushed them off, assuming he was just too young to remember clearly. And honestly, did it really matter to his hatred exactly what words had been said? When you’re that consumed by revenge, the details blur together.

Damn. My old friend Sergey told me Sasuke had eventually killed Itachi, but I never got that far—I only watched up to Gaara’s rescue in Shippuden. Now I was seeing the whole mess unfold in real time.

"So, what do we do?" Naruto finally asked when they’d exhausted every angle of their fragmented, manipulated memories. "And by the way, you still haven’t actually told us what really happened. If everything we remember is only a year old, what about those three missing years? What actually happened?"

"I’ll tell you," Shisui said, "but not right now. You need rest. You still have a mission in Ryu tomorrow," he added with a half-smile. "But one thing I can say? You’ve known Tora-san before. You were friends. And you two were close before all of this happened. Whatever he’s been doing, he’s been trying to set things right—at least between the two of you. That’s why I had no doubts leaving you in his care. Because I trusted this cat."

Oh, what a smooth talker. Shisui, you charmer, you.

I had no choice but to show my appreciation. Of course, I also used the moment to rub against him and mark him with my scent—multitasking at its finest.

His smile widened as he picked me up, giving me a thorough head scratch. Damn, he knew all the good spots. I even let him rub my belly. And that’s how I fell asleep, warm and blissed-out in his lap.

By morning, I woke up sprawled across Sasuke. Naruto was next to us, snoring on top of his sleeping bag. Shisui was gone, not even a trace of his scent left.

Rustling came from the side, and I turned to see a sleepy-eyed Sakura digging through her pack.

"Oh, Neko-chan," she yawned, rubbing her eyes. "We should wake up Sasuke-kun and Naruto."

Oh, don’t worry. I’ve got this.

I took a deep breath, positioned myself between their heads, and let out the loudest yowl I could manage.

"ATTEN-HUT!!!"

Naruto screeched, flailing as he nearly tripped over Sasuke, windmilling his arms like a panicked chicken.

Sakura burst into giggles. Sasuke, by contrast, remained completely still—except for the way his chakra spiked as he calmly reached for his kunai.

The team shook off their sleep quickly, packed up, and erased all traces of their campsite before heading out.

By the time we reached Ryu, it was about nine in the morning. The sky was still overcast, though the rain had stopped. The air still smelled damp and fresh.

And then—bam—the scent hit me.

Cats. A lot of cats.

My fur stood on end before I could stop it. Normally, I could control my instincts just fine, but this—this was different. This place reeked of territorial markings. And not just casual ‘this spot is mine’ scent-posting. No, this was the kind of overwhelming, aggressive scent that screamed: Step one paw out of line and we’ll rip you to shreds.

A tremor ran through my body that I couldn’t shake.

"Neko-san," Naruto muttered, glancing at Sakura as he gently stroked my fur. "You're shaking… what's wrong?"

Sasuke tensed up too, his eyes scanning the area before he reached for the door handle—the same one covered in an overwhelming number of scent marks. I counted at least ten different animal signatures. And I wasn’t even sure they were all just regular cats...

Oh, for the love of all feline deities—this close to a real ninja cat enclave, and my damn instincts decide to act up?!

Naruto pulled me closer, and I instinctively dug my claws into the fabric of his seemingly indestructible orange jumpsuit.

"Easy, easy, don't be scared, Tora-chan," he whispered in my ear. I forced myself to cycle chakra through my body, trying to drown out the overwhelming urge to bolt out of there and as far away from this cursed shop as possible. I pressed my face against his neck to block out the dense mix of animal scents surrounding us.

Inside, the shop was a sensory overload: the sharp tang of metal polish, the earthy musk of animal hides, ink, paper, the distinct scent of burning incense and pipe smoke… and the underlying presence of two women, five tomcats, and two female cats. None of them, however, matched the scents from the door.

So then… who the hell left those marks?

"Sasuke, my boy, it’s been ages since I’ve seen you!"

In the middle of the room, seated cross-legged on a thick woven mat, was the strangest little old lady I’d ever seen. Wrapped in a fluffy wool scarf, she was idly puffing on a long pipe like she’d stepped straight out of some samurai drama. The smell of her tobacco was…‘pungent’. And the way she laughed—this raspy, mischievous cackle that instantly put me on edge. Her silver-white hair was a mess of strange tufts, and perched atop her head was a black headband with cat ears. Even the tip of her nose was darkened, like she’d smudged charcoal on it.

"Good to see you, Granny Cat," Sasuke greeted her respectfully.

Ah. So this was her. The infamous Granny Cat.

And judging by the way her seven furry companions were positioned around her—yeah, definitely a cat person in every sense of the word.

One in particular, a massive Siamese, was sprawled luxuriously across her lap, looking smug as hell. That is—until his nose twitched. His ears flicked, and one icy blue eye cracked open.

The other cats noticed too, stiffening as they turned their gazes toward me.

"What’s wrong, Sagashi-san?" Granny Cat tilted her head at her oversized feline, watching as his posture shifted. "Ohhh, looks like Sasuke-kun and his friends brought us a little guest. Now, now, children, be polite. Boy, you can put your kitty down now," she added, looking at Naruto.

Naruto hesitated but did as she said, gently placing me on the floor.

"This cat wandered up to us near Ryu," Sakura chimed in, tugging on Sasuke’s sleeve. "Sasuke-kun, how do you even know our client?"

"Granny Cat has always worked with the Uchiha clan," Sasuke explained. "She’s a legendary weapons supplier and an invaluable source of information."

I, however, had my attention locked on their leader—the Siamese, Sagashi-san—who had hopped off Granny Cat’s lap and was now sitting with his entourage, tails flicking in unison.

"How did you get in here?" a sleek white tom demanded. "That girl said you just found them recently, but those boys—" he narrowed his eyes at Naruto and Sasuke, "—reek of your scent markings."

"Maybe that’s just because they’re my boys?" I replied, puffing out my chest with pride. "Wait… so you understand human speech?"

"Pff, of course we do!" scoffed a black cat with a gray patch over one eye. "We’re descendants of ninja cats, after all."

"What a coincidence," I said, suddenly feeling oddly calm. I even sat down on my haunches to show I meant no harm. "Because I’m one too. In fact, I am a ninja cat!"

"WHAT?!"

Seven pairs of feline eyes widened in complete shock.

"Impossible!" the black cat hissed suspiciously. "You’re just a regular cat!"

"He should be taken to Mama-sama and Papa-sama!" Sagashi-san declared, flicking his tail decisively. "Come with us."

"I can’t just leave my humans—" I started, but then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. A girl had just stepped out from the back of the shop, carrying a pink and very thick album.

"Don’t worry, the humans will be… occupied reminiscing for a while," Sagashi-san said cryptically. "We have time."

And just like that, I found myself flanked on all sides, a veritable escort forming around me. The massive Siamese led the way, his dark tail waving like a banner.

Welp. This was happening.

I was a little nervous, sure—but damn if I wasn’t intrigued.

Was I finally about to learn the great and ancient secrets of the ninja cats?

Or at the very least… get a decent meal out of it?