[Mad Tiger] Chapter 54

"Man, our first real mission was just plain stupid," Naruto grumbled.

"On the other hand, Kakashi-sensei let us use radios," Sasuke countered dryly, shooting me a look. I, on the other hand, was practically vibrating from suppressed laughter and sheer pride.

Yeah, sure, the whole thing had been dumb as hell—but it was hilarious.

"Come on, you have to admit it’s weird—chasing after your own cat all over Konoha, only to hand him over and watch poor Tora-chan get squeezed half to death by his so-called owner, Madam Shijimi," Naruto snickered, scratching behind my ear with his scratched-up hand. "Not surprised he ran away from the palace to hang out with us."

"Tora-chan, you came back way too fast. Think they’ll put out another request for you?" Sasuke asked.

I shook my head. The lady had already summoned a shadow clone of me and set it loose in Otakuku. She told me she’d start making regular requests for my retrieval—just to keep up appearances. That way, if anyone saw me in the village, it wouldn’t raise suspicions. Smart lady. She also stuffed me full of the finest gourmet treats and gave me a good brushing. The only thing that threw me off was her asking about Kushina-san. She hadn’t heard a word from her in over a month. Neither had I.

It had been almost a month since the genin exam. A month since Naruto learned the truth about the Nine-Tails. And the wildest part? The clans had apparently decided to spill the beans to all their heirs at the same time. Maybe in the anime, they needed time to process it—slowly warming up to each other over different missions. But for us? The night after the team assignments, there was a full-blown debrief at Sasuke’s apartment. And nobody bailed.

Team 7—Naruto, Sasuke, and their reluctant third wheel, Sakura—got paired with Hatake Kakashi. And I knew this guy. I’d recognized his scent immediately. He was the same dude who’d tracked me down under Kushina-san’s orders.

Everything else went exactly like in the anime. Team 7 got stuck doing the most mundane grunt work. Cleaning up trash, walking dogs, catching stray cats—rinse and repeat. They barely trained with their actual sensei. Watching all of that play out over a couple of anime episodes was one thing. Living through it for a full month? Different story.

I had it easy—I was a free agent. Spent my time training with Akamaru and Kuromaru, keeping an eye on my little pack, and occasionally tailing Hiruzen. But Naruto and Sasuke? They were suffering. They tried squeezing in their own training after their dumb missions, but that wasn’t enough. Meanwhile, Kakashi-sensei spent way too much time reading his trashy little book and dodging questions about what was under his mask. At one point, they got so desperate, their entire mission became "Find Out What’s Under the Mask."

Spoiler alert: They failed.

Two days after the Great Cat Chase, I tagged along for their morning mission briefing, like I usually did. Normally, I just listened in, got the gist of their schedule, then went off to do my own thing. Today, though? Today, things got interesting.

Kakashi actually showed up on time. I immediately noped into the bushes. Not getting caught in the middle of whatever this was.

"You all did a great job honing your cat-hunting skills," Kakashi drawled, and I swear this man smirked with his single visible eye. "Which is why today, you’ve been given a special mission. You need to collect a paw print from a cat named Nekomata. This mission is ranked D-plus. I have some business to take care of near Ryu, where the request came from, so I’ll escort you to the client. The rest is up to you."

"What?! Another cat mission?!" Naruto groaned. "Sasuke, say something! This is ridiculous! We want a real mission! …Sasuke?"

I turned toward the Uchiha and immediately spotted the shift. Oh. Ohhhhhh. Ryu.

Naruto, standing in profile, had the same realization. His eyes practically doubled in size.

"Ohhh," Naruto muttered, slow and dawning. "I'm starting to like this mission."

I planted myself in Naruto’s backpack and made it very clear—I was coming with them to Ryu.

They understood immediately and didn’t even bother arguing. I stashed some of my canned food in Naruto’s bag and packed some dry treats in Sasuke’s. Just in case. You never know when the road might make you queasy, and a little salty snack helps.

The next morning, we set off. Kakashi led the way. Naruto, with me in tow, brought up the rear. I switched between walking on my own, napping in the bag, and trailing them from the shadows.

For a while, everything was perfect. A new, fun mission. Exciting travel. A chance to see the legendary ninja cats of Ryu. And then—on the second day of the journey—it started to rain.

Not just any rain. Naruto let out a deep, suffering sigh and muttered a single word:

"Karatsuyu…"

"Ryu is further east, so the rainy season here should be ending soon," Kakashi said, attempting to console his very soaked team as they huddled in a cave for shelter.

I peeked outside. The sky was pitch-black, and the rain poured down in sheets. Yeah. Real convincing, sensei.

"We’ll meet back here in four days," Kakashi continued, getting ready to leave. "I have other business in a neighboring town. Your mission is to collect the paw print. The city is five kilometers north of here. Sasuke knows where to go. He’s in charge."

"Oh, so you're just leaving us, sensei?" Sakura piped up.

"Yep. See you soon," Kakashi said, and before anyone could object, he was already walking away.

I watched from my perch in Naruto’s bag as he set it down in the back corner of the cave and loosened the straps so I could slip in and out as I pleased.

"So, Sasuke-kun, you're in charge?" Sakura asked, suddenly chipper. "How do you know the way to Ryu? Have you been there before?"

"The city is home to…" Sasuke hesitated. "Weapons craftsmen. They supplied the Uchiha clan with gear." He paused again, then added, quieter, "I used to go there. With my brother."

Oh.

That gave me an idea.

Slipping into the deep shadows, I used the dim firelight and Sakura’s distraction to slink out of the cave. A little stretch of the legs. Some fresh air. Maybe take care of some, uh, cat business. The rain made it annoying—washed away all the good scents—but at least I didn’t track in mud.

"Oh! A cat!" Sakura squeaked when I padded back inside, shaking off the excess rain.

The boys exchanged looks.

I flopped down and started grooming.

"I think he wants food and a warm place to stay," Naruto said. 

"He’s so cute and fluffy! We have to keep him, right, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura turned her big green eyes on him.

Sasuke looked like he was about three seconds from laughing.

"No, k-khmm, Sakura. We won’t chase him off," Sasuke assured her, digging through his bag and tossing me a handful of treats.

"Ohhh, where’d you get those, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura gasped.

"Well… our client is called ‘Granny Cat,’ and she has a lot of cats," Sasuke said smoothly. "I figured I'd bring a little something for them."

Smart cover.

Good thing I'd already cleaned out the stash I packed in Naruto’s bag. Otherwise, Sasuke definitely wouldn’t have gotten away with that one.

"Naruto, wanna take a walk around the area?" Sasuke asked after a couple of hours, cutting a glance toward Sakura.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, sure," Naruto shrugged.

I let out a demanding meow.

"Looks like T—uh, Neko-san wants to join us too," Naruto chuckled. Sakura blushed and turned away, pretending not to hear. Sasuke tucked me under his cloak, and we stepped out into the rain.

"I've been thinking," Sasuke said once we’d put some distance between us and the cave. "It's possible that Itachi arranged this mission for us through Granny Cat."

Naruto blinked in surprise, and I flicked my ears, equally intrigued.

"Why do you think that?" Naruto asked.

"Well, my brother and I used to come here often for weapons. And this whole 'paw print' game… Itachi came up with it. Maybe he wants to test me. He told me to hate him. To train and get stronger."

Naruto tensed and looked around cautiously. "Our mission's just a D-plus rank—if you even count the 'plus' part, which is mostly because we left the village. We should be careful. What about your client, this 'Granny Cat'? Does she know what happened to the Uchiha?"

"Fifty-fifty," Sasuke admitted after a pause. "Maybe she’s heard rumors. You know how it is—Konoha’s a hidden village. If word got out that the great Uchiha Clan, protectors of the village, were gone, it could make us look weak. So they probably kept it under wraps. I just remember she really liked Itachi." He hesitated before adding, "Last time I saw her, I was six. Maybe seven."

"We could carefully ask about your brother," Naruto suggested. "Like, when she last saw him and stuff."

"No." Sasuke shook his head. "Itachi's dojutsu is too powerful. He can alter memories. Just stay alert. If he’s here, he’s probably just watching. Don't let on that we suspect him."

"Got it. Let’s head back." Naruto glanced down at me. "But first, I actually do need to hit the bushes."

Sasuke handed me over to Naruto, then gave me a long look.

"What do you think, Tora-chan? Is this an Itachi trap?"

I couldn't exactly shrug, so I settled for an ambiguous little trill. But honestly? I didn't remember this mission happening in the anime.

When we got back to the cave, the fire had nearly burned out, and Sakura had apparently gone to sleep. Naruto let me down, and immediately, my nose twitched. Something was off.

There was another scent.

"Good evening, Sasuke…"

Two crimson Sharingan eyes flickered to life in the darkness.

Holy shit.

"Would you not scare the hell out of kids like that, Shisui-san?!" I yowled indignantly at our unexpected guest.

"Paw print mission" is from a filler episode of Naruto Shippuuden 189