Ninja Cats

Konoha Hospital.

Fourteenth Medical Room.

"Alright, nothing was found!" Tsunade patted the girl on the back. "Get up!"

She stood up and watched the pink-haired girl rustling as she put on her clothes with her back to her, and suddenly realized that her apprentice had grown a little taller.

I used to be able to see right up to Sakura Haruno's head.

"It's thicker than a hand's width!" Tsunade leaned over and measured it as Sakura straightened up.

She's only 1.63 meters tall, which isn't considered tall for a woman; judging by her appearance, Sakura Haruno seems to be around 1.64 or 1.65 meters.

They're growing up very fast.

When Tsunade first accepted Sakura as her disciple, you could still see the whorl of hair on her head.

Six months ago, the two were basically eye to eye.

Now it's Sakura's turn to look at her hair whorl.

I feel a bit sentimental.

Tsunade looked at Sakura Haruno with a complex mix of emotions.

Her growth, in terms of height, is merely the most noticeable yet least remarkable aspect. In terms of strength, after accumulating a certain amount of Chakra, Sakura can already be considered a "Kage" level ninja—this is the most astonishing aspect of her growth.

A sense of melancholy arises from the saying, "The waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves forward, and the front waves die on the beach"; at the same time, a feeling of pride arises from the thought, "My daughter has come of age."

"What's wrong, Master?" Sakura Haruno, who was pulling her T-shirt over her head, heard Tsunade's mutterings, turned around with her head covered, and asked.

The sound came from under the clothes, sounding a bit muffled.

Her clothes seemed a bit tight, and her head was stuck, unable to move forward or backward. Sakura pulled hard, and with a tearing sound—like a monthly pass being ripped—her clothes were torn.

Tsunade chuckled at her disciple's embarrassed expression; this guy always manages to cause trouble, it seems that in terms of "growing up," her disciple still has a long way to go.

As she was leaving, Sakura Haruno was wearing Tsunade's clothes—which were extremely ill-fitting, too short, revealing her navel, and hanging loosely without enough support from her chest.

She looks just like a rebellious, alternative girl.

"Although your body can still handle it, try to avoid using the third stage of the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals technique if possible. This technique is even more damaging to the body than the Monstrous Strength Technique." Tsunade her out, and as she reached the door, she reminded her, "There should be at least a three-month interval between uses to avoid leaving any hidden injuries."

"Yes, Master." Sakura nodded obediently in response.

"Also, remember to keep your past experiences a complete secret until I've figured out how to handle them." Tsunade lowered her voice. "And don't worry about the Uchiha for now; that's not something you should be dealing with right now."

"I want to know the truth," Sakura Haruno said, blinking.

"The truth is, in Konoha right now, you're the one who knows the most about the truth..." Tsunade's face darkened. "All the Anbu who witnessed the Masked Man's existence were hunted down and killed by him. You're the only one who fought him and survived."

"No way..."

"If it weren't for the casualty records of the Anbu and Root, we wouldn't even know that such an elusive figure existed in Konoha..." The Fifth Hokage sighed. "You're the only one who brought back information about him; otherwise, I wouldn't even know if he's a man or a woman!"

"What about the other parts?"

Tsunade patted her on the shoulder and said, "There are some classified files you can't access yet. Although you're very strong and theoretically capable of handling more, you're still just Special Jōnin, not even Jonin yet, so you're not qualified to look at these documents."

She paused, then said loudly, "Your master isn't old yet! It's not time for me to put down my responsibilities and hand everything over to the younger generation!"

Seeing Sakura's dismissive pout, Tsunade chuckled and tapped the mark on the girl's forehead with her index finger, "Wait until you're a bit older!"

"It's good in every way."

Sakura Haruno shrugged; the topic was over.

So, tactfully, he changed the subject. "When can I apply to become Jonin?"

"If this were wartime, you'd already be Jonin, skipping straight to Special Jōnin. But now," the Lord Hokage sized up the outstanding young ninja before him, "Jonin isn't that simple. Following the proper procedure, you'll be eligible for another six months... Never mind, let's have a meeting to discuss this."

Making an exception for Sakura's promotion to Jonin is not a big deal.

Tsunade had a premonition that as contact and conflict with Akatsuki increased, Konoha's manpower would become increasingly strained; promoting capable young people instead of letting them slowly accumulate seniority and years of service would be a better choice.

From the beginning of her rule, Konoha gradually transitioned from a period of peace to a state of alert, and this wasn't just about being wary of Akatsuki...

In recent years, the other countries of the Five Great Nations have been quietly making great strides... quietly developing.

"Alright, that's all for today. I'm giving you a week off. Remember to come back early wherever you go!" Tsunade patted the girl's bottom and pushed her out of the treatment room.

She knew that Sakura was going to the cat ninja base with Sasuke.

If these two showed no signs of dating, Tsunade would really like to set them up... Sasuke would feel much more at ease if he had a girlfriend in Konoha sooner, right?

What about Hinata? In terms of excellence, she's definitely not lacking. And with the Byakugan and Sharingan combined, what kind of child would she have...? Many people would probably be very interested in seeing that.

Ino is another top-tier beauty, and she's quite strong too; she's got excellent qualities. If Sasuke doesn't mind being two years older than him, Yuki Haku would also be a good choice!

If these aren't enough, Hanabi Hyuga? Kurama Yakumo?...

Watching her disciple's departing figure, Tsunade began to daydream; her thoughts had already wandered far and wide...

A week-long holiday, is it long or short?

Once Sasuke completed his mission with the Anbu, the two immediately set off for the Ninja Cat Clan's encampment.

That place wasn't far from Konoha. At Sakura and Sasuke's pace, if they set off in the morning, camped overnight in the wild, and arrived by noon the next day.

"It's just a ruin..." Sakura sighed as she stood before the desolate city.

I seem to have a knack for visiting ruins lately.

However, judging from the extent of its abandonment, the city has not been abandoned for very long.

"Yes, this place..." Sasuke stepped forward, touched the mottled wall, and said with a touch of emotion, "This city was once the territory of the Uchiha clan."

He glanced back at Sakura and explained the origins of the city.

Long before the establishment of Konoha, this place was the residence of the Uchiha. After the establishment of Konoha and the relocation of Konoha Uchiha Clan, this place was opened to outsiders and became a city for the Uchiha.

"They used a lot of the latest construction technology here, building skyscrapers." Sasuke looked up at the tallest building in the city center, some reaching twenty stories, his tone somewhat desolate. "My clansmen were ambitious, wanting to create a city even more magnificent than Konoha, but unexpectedly..."

"It is indeed magnificent," Sakura nodded.

The buildings here have a bit of a city feel to them from my previous life; the towering concrete jungle is more spectacular than Konoha's traditional low-rise buildings. But in Sakura's opinion... well, she'd seen plenty of cities like this in her previous life. In that world, they'd just feel like ordinary second- or third-tier cities. On the contrary, Konoha's architectural style was much more appealing.

However, in the Shinobi World, this is probably the first city with a concrete jungle style, and its high-tech appearance makes it stand out from the rest of the ninja world.

It is indeed a place that the Uchiha can be proud of.

Unfortunately, after the Uchiha Clan Massacre out, the area quickly fell into ruin, and the residents fled the city. Later, the Ninja Cat Clan took over the area under the guise of being Uchiha comrades.

He explained as he walked.

"This way."

Sakura, led by Sasuke, entered a complex of buildings called the Sora-ku.

Turning into a high-rise building, the passageways here are dense and the ceiling is covered with all sorts of pipes of unknown purpose; there is nothing to mark them, and every passageway looks familiar. After walking through the twists and turns, Sakura Haruno quickly forgot how they got in.

It's easy to get lost in this place.

Sakura followed behind Sasuke, watching him skillfully navigate the passage. She wondered how Sasuke remembered the way.

We walked along the passage for over a kilometer.

"Hmm?" Sakura Haruno suddenly stopped and turned around.

Chakra, which is completely different from what humans feel, appeared in her perception.

Sasuke sensed it carefully.

"It's you guys, Denka and Hina."

As they spoke, the two raccoon dogs silently jumped down from the pipes in the wall to the ground.

"Long time no see, Sasuke, did you bring any food?"

One of the Ninja Cat glanced at Sakura and then ignored her, before unceremoniously reaching out to Sasuke for a gift. It was really not cute at all.

Sasuke with an expression of unsurprised surprise. "I brought some wood ear fungus... Your tastes haven't changed, have they?" He pulled out two bottles.

"Great, I love this!" The two Ninja Cat snatched the bottle from Sasuke with lightning speed. Denka stuffed the bottle into his belly pocket, his eyes narrowing with satisfaction. He asked in high spirits, "What brings you here?"

"I've come to pick up something..."

"Then come with me, let's go see Cat Granny first."

Denka and Hinata nimbly leaped onto the pipes above the passageway and raced forward, bringing the two deep into the building.

"They're going in opposite directions." Sakura suddenly realized this. Could it be that Sasuke had gone in the wrong direction from the start?

"Yes, I was just wandering around," Sasuke replied matter-of-factly. "Making a noise will draw their attention and they'll come looking for us."

Sakura stared at him, her eyes wide. Sasuke added, "The passages here are like a maze, and they're modified by their Ninjutsu every so often, so only they know the correct way through..."

"..." Sakura's lips twitched, and she was speechless.

After walking for a while, we came to a door.

"Cat Granny, we have a visitor from the Uchiha. It's Sasuke, my little brother." Denka knocked on the door and said.

(Fourth update presented, as a bonus chapter to repay the 700 monthly votes received at the end of last month!!)

(Still updating 1000 words today, even though I spent a lot of time at lunch! Come on, cast your votes! The more monthly votes, the more updates!)

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