Signing the Contract (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)

After pushing open the door, Sakura Haruno saw the so-called Cat Granny.

Contrary to her expectations, Cat Granny was an elderly human woman.

She sat cross-legged in the middle of the spacious house, with a dozen or so Ninja Cat playing and frolicking around her.

Two kittens climbed onto her head and shoulders, meowing incessantly.

Upon seeing someone enter, the Ninja Cat displayed expressions ranging from wary to friendly, their personalities appearing quite different.

Just as she understood, the ninja beasts developed intelligence under the stimulation of Chakra or Natural Energy, reaching the level of humans in terms of intelligence, and many individuals were even considered wise, but they still retained many of their wild nature.

For example, asking its owner for cat food.

For example, they might be affectionate towards their owners or wary of strangers.

Cat Granny put the two kittens that had been crawling all over her down on the ground, glanced at the two people who walked in, and said, "Long time no see, Sasuke. What brings you here?"

Two kittens waddled towards Sakura, their feet sinking into the carpet. Sakura Haruno knelt down, opened her palm, and the two kittens happily began to lick her.

It's so cute when it's itchy. Just like a normal cat!

Sasuke glanced down at the two cats, carefully avoiding them, and took a step forward. "According to the agreement between the Uchiha and the Ninja Cat Clan, I've come here to find a summoning partner willing to fight alongside me."

He took out a Summoning Scroll and showed it to Cat Granny.

"It's a top-level scroll that only the clan leader can use..." Cat Granny took a puff of her cigarette, making a crackling sound, and frowned. "Yes, you've already... sigh. Anyway, if you sign this scroll, you can choose the best cat from our Ninja Cat as your partner."

"Is Denka and chicks okay?"

"No, they'll be responsible for receiving guests, and Denka and Hina aren't even the best. Actually, our clan has seen a lot of outstanding talents in recent years," Cat Granny smiled slightly. "So I recommend Oni and the Blaze siblings, um... and Yoru Uo."

She pointed to the two kittens that had just been licking the girl's fingers.

Sasuke turned around and his face immediately fell: This is what you call Ninja Cat?!

The two cats, completely incapable of fighting and only good at being cute, were squinting their eyes, enjoying the girl's petting.

This action has a professional term: "Petting a cat".

However... don't be fooled by their appearance.

Cat Granny wasn't joking.

Judging solely from their Chakra, Sakura Haruno could roughly determine that the two kittens at her feet had extremely high potential. Their vigorous vitality resulted in a massive amount of Chakra, even comparable to some of the adult Ninja Cat present.

When they grow up, they will be even more amazing!

"Ghost and Blaze are once-in-a-decade genius Ninja Cat, and they really enjoy being with humans," Cat Granny smiled proudly as she introduced the two cats to Sasuke, then added, "Bringing them to the ninja village will benefit their growth, and having them with you will also help cultivate your teamwork. Don't worry, the Ninja Cat will grow up quickly."

I'd rather have combat power that can be used immediately after signing a contract... Sasuke reluctantly accepted Cat Granny's kindness, watching her seal the names of Oni and Shuten-dōji, along with two tufts of fur, into the scroll.

He then asked, "And what about the Yoru Uo?"

This can't be a kitten, can it?

"Yoru Uo?" Cat Granny was taken aback, looked around but couldn't find her target. "Where's that brat? Where did she run off to steal some food again?"

"Yoru Uo, Yoru Uo!" she called out loudly twice, but received no response.

"I haven't seen her since early this morning," a calico cat lying lazily on its cat shelf said.

"Rin! Rin Mikura!" Cat Granny called out twice towards the outside, "Have you seen Yoru Uo?"

A girl about the same age as Sakura peeked out from the doorway. "No!"

As everyone wondered what was going on, the lid of a wine jar on a nearby shelf was suddenly pushed open, revealing an orange female cat with sleepy eyes and a breath reeking of alcohol, who asked, "Who's calling me?"

"Yoru Uo, you've been drinking again..." Cat Granny's eyebrows drooped immediately, and she said helplessly.

The fat cat, drunk, squeezed out of the wine jar, swaying its chubby body as it jumped off the wine rack—almost stumbling and falling to the ground; seeing its lazy movements, Sasuke's expression immediately became quite interesting.

Aside from its ability to talk, what else about this cat Jonin Cat?

The two kittens are fine; but what's wrong with this greedy and fat mother cat?!

Sakura Haruno, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but chuckle; as the saying goes, nine out of ten orange cats are fat, and the tenth is especially fat, and this Ninja Cat named Yoru Uo is clearly not one of the ninety percent.

"Ahem... Yoru Uo has an exceptionally keen sense of smell. No matter how we hide the food, she always finds it immediately," Cat Granny chuckled awkwardly, explaining, "Although she's so fat she can't even jump, she's still quite excellent as a support-type Ninja Cat..."

Seeing Sasuke's expression grow increasingly stiff, Cat Granny chuckled awkwardly, "Consider it a bonus. The rule is that one person can only sign up for two cats..."

I hesitated for a moment.

"Alright," Sasuke said helplessly.

Since the house is big enough, it's good to bring them home to catch mice, that's what Sasuke thought.

--He never considered how such a fat cat could catch a mouse.

Cat Granny quickly wrote down Yoru Uo's name, as if afraid Sasuke would change his mind; she muttered something under her breath.

Sakura didn't hear clearly, but it sounded like "Finally, she's gone," and "The money from the shop is almost not enough to cover her food expenses," and so on. She glanced at Sasuke with some sympathy. The Uchiha family still had a huge fortune left; hopefully, it wouldn't be completely consumed!

Probably!

Cat Granny returned the scroll with the names written on it to Sasuke, saying, "Remember to summon them to Konoha as soon as you get back, remember that!"

Before Sasuke anything, she quickly continued, "Alright, the matter of signing the Ninja Cat Contract is settled!"

He then asked, "Well, is there anything else Sasuke do next?"

Sasuke stopped dwelling on these minor details and said, "I need to go into the Uchiha's warehouse to get some things. You guys should still have the supplies there, right?"

"Of course," Cat Granny's expression returned to calm and composed when the conversation turned to business, as she puffed on her pipe, "However, you must present the family heirloom, otherwise it cannot be opened."

"I brought it." Sasuke took out an exquisite, ornament-like object from his pocket. Cat Granny took it and combined it with another part in her hand to form a large key.

"Here's the key to the warehouse... You can go with Rin to the warehouse." Cat Granny handed the key back to Sasuke, smoking a cigarette.

"Thank you, Cat Granny." Sasuke nodded, and the two left the room, arriving at a huge warehouse under Rin's guidance.

Sakura finally understood why the key was so big—it was a perfect match for the warehouse's towering iron gate.

Sakura Haruno and Sasuke exchanged a glance: What exactly was inside that required such a large warehouse? Sasuke himself was quite surprised.

Sakura used her Monstrous Strength Technique to push open the huge iron gate, and what came into view was a mountain of supplies.

The pile stretched from the warehouse entrance all the way to the depths of the warehouse, so deep that the bottom could not be seen.

The two entered the warehouse, and Sakura casually pulled out a Kunai from the pile of ninja tools on a shelf. The iron ninja tool, wrapped in oil paper, was well preserved and still looked brand new when opened.

She waved it a few times, making a whooshing sound as it flew through the air, "This is a newly made Kunai of excellent quality; it's been sitting here unused for six or seven years."

Sasuke nodded.

The two of them raised their hands and looked over.

The enormous shelf beside them was two or three stories high, divided into many layers by iron plates. Each layer was filled with the same type of ninja tools, and each shelf looked to contain at least tens of thousands of Kunai. And this was just the tip of the iceberg of the warehouse. Sakura looked back and saw the same shelves behind her, neatly arranged, stretching all the way into the dark depths of the warehouse!

Countless Kunai, shuriken, Fūma Shuriken, katana, longsword, longsword...

Commonly used ninja tools, some filling more than a dozen shelves, others piled up on several shelves, were laid out openly in front of the two of them!

For a moment, Sakura Haruno was stunned by the dazzling array of goods in the store.

"Too many..." she murmured.

That's definitely too many.

Sakura Haruno racked her brains trying to find a word to describe the scene before her, but found herself at a loss for words.

The phrase "as numerous as hairs on a cow" is an insult to the sheer size of this enormous warehouse.

She walked straight in. The first dozen or so shelves were filled with Kunai, perhaps hundreds of thousands of them—too many to count. Behind them were shuriken, also filling about a dozen shelves. Then came a dazzling array of longswords, katanas, and all sorts of special weapons...

After walking past the long shelves of ninja tools, they arrived at the depths of the warehouse. Light couldn't penetrate from the door, making the inside pitch black. Sakura fumbled for the light switch on the wall and turned it on. She discovered that this was where medical supplies and medicines were stored.

Bandages, ointments, pain relief patches, Military Rations Pill, and blood tonics, etc., are either displayed directly on the shelves or sealed in boxes or scrolls. Sakura can find everything here, whether she has seen it before or not.

Further on, there were various miscellaneous items, such as clothing, scrolls, and books. This part was particularly scarce, almost nonexistent compared to the supplies used for combat.

Sakura Haruno reached the end of the warehouse and turned back. Sasuke was standing in the middle of the warehouse, gazing thoughtfully at the shelves piled high with weapons around him.

The two looked at each other in silence.

The same question loomed before them—

What did the Uchiha clan use all these supplies for?

(First update delivered, bonus chapter for 100 monthly votes!!)

(My goal for today is still 1000 words in 4 chapters! I'm going out for lunch to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I'll continue writing and updating tonight while you all enjoy the moon!! I'm just asking for monthly votes and subscriptions!!)

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