Gifts

After touring the laboratory, the conversation between the two brothers came to an end.

This time, Yu wanted Sasuke to understand that he possessed great power as well. At the same time, he was declaring that he finally had the strength to truly step into this world.

Most people hid their true faces because they lacked the power to show their real selves. To act as one pleased, one needed a certain amount of capital.

Now, Yu could be said to possess that capital.

The commotion caused by his use of sixteen Chakra Hearts had been enormous. Even with measures in the laboratory to evade detection, it could no longer remain hidden and would inevitably draw Konoha's attention.

And that was exactly the result Yu wanted.

"Sasuke, I think you and Red Cat are pretty fated. How about I give Red Cat to you? He's easy to raise, and I added a few things to his body. He can help you out now, too." Yu caught Red Cat from the laboratory and handed him to Sasuke.

Red Cat was 1.2 meters long. Overall, he looked like a little red tiger, especially with the character for "king" on his forehead flickering with tiny flames. He was very good-looking.

Red Cat was also a special existence among the slimes in the laboratory, one of the three slimes that possessed self-awareness.

Moreover, Red Cat had fused the bloodlines of four special beasts. He had originally been Little Tiger, and had fused the bloodlines of the Overlord Ninja Tiger, Fluffy Ball Rat, Fire-breathing Ninja Bird, and Bubble Fish.

Slimes possessed an incredibly powerful talent for fusion and could fuse with nearly any bloodline or Kekkei Genkai. Although the slimes were still unable to fuse high-level bloodlines, that was merely a matter of time.

After two years of experiments, Yu discovered that most slimes could only fuse with one bloodline. Red Cat had only managed to fuse four bloodlines because of his exceptional talent, and that was not even Red Cat's limit.

However, Yu feared a fusion failure. After all, Red Cat had already developed self-awareness. If the fusion failed, Red Cat would certainly die. So he stopped experimenting on Red Cat, also because he no longer needed to conduct such "low-level" experiments.

He had just placed two Chakra Hearts inside Red Cat's body. Red Cat had originally been equipped with Chakra Hearts, but he was too combative. Once he had chakra, he set fires everywhere in the laboratory, so Yu had removed his Chakra Hearts. Even then, he was still far from well-behaved.

Two Chakra Hearts were the most suitable setup for Red Cat at present. They gave him chakra no weaker than that of an ordinary jonin, and it was in a perpetual-motion state as long as energy was supplied to the Chakra Hearts.

Red Cat, held in Yu's arms, was extremely excited and thrilled at that moment. He had always wanted to see the world outside the laboratory, but Yu had always forbidden them from leaving.

To the slimes, Yu was like a "god." They obeyed Yu's commands completely, without any discount.

Now, "god" had finally said he would let him leave. From the moment Red Cat learned the news, he had been overjoyed.

But now there was a problem—Sasuke hesitated.

Looking at the big red cat in Yu's arms, Sasuke did not know whether he should accept him. To be honest, he was quite interested in Red Cat, but he had never raised an animal before. Being suddenly asked to raise such a large cat left him flustered and unable to decide.

"If you don't like him, Sasuke, then forget it." Yu saw Sasuke's difficulty and did not want to press the matter. Just as he was about to put Red Cat back in the laboratory, Red Cat suddenly sprang up and jumped into Sasuke's arms.

Red Cat then rubbed against and licked Sasuke, constantly letting out "Awoo, awoo, awoo" cries. His ruby-like eyes were brimming with tears as he looked pitifully at Sasuke.

For a moment, Sasuke did not know what to say. And to keep Red Cat from falling out of his arms, he instinctively wrapped both hands around Red Cat's body. The unusually soft and smooth feel of Red Cat's fur traveled through his hands and into his mind, and for a moment, Sasuke did not want to let go.

Maybe having Red Cat by my side wouldn't be so bad! Sasuke quietly thought. However, he desperately controlled his expression, unwilling to reveal that thought, because it did not fit his usual personality at all.

But Yu, standing nearby, saw the faint smile at the corner of Sasuke's mouth, so he knew Sasuke was not opposed to Red Cat.

"I think Red Cat really is fated with you, Sasuke. How about you raise Red Cat for me for a while? If you don't want to raise him anymore later, just tell me." Yu smiled at Sasuke, giving him an out.

After hearing Yu's words, Sasuke hesitated for a few seconds before saying "aloofly," "Then I'll try raising him."

Red Cat could understand human speech. He knew that from this moment onward, he was free. Though he had not been confined in the laboratory, it was only so large, and he had long grown tired of staying there. He had been looking forward to the outside world for a very long time.

"Red Cat, you'd better listen to Sasuke from now on. His words are the same as mine, so remember that." Yu walked over and gave Red Cat's head a rub as he spoke.

Red Cat looked at Sasuke, who was holding him, then nodded heavily at Yu.

Sasuke did not find anything strange about this. There were many Ninja Beasts in Konoha, and most of them could understand human language. Their intelligence was not particularly far behind that of ordinary people.

Just like that, Red Cat was given away. Watching Sasuke carry Red Cat back to his room, Yu sighed. "Finally, one less troublemaker."

Red Cat had truly been lawless in the laboratory and had ruined quite a few of his things.

With Sasuke's guidance, perhaps Red Cat could become even stronger. Besides, Red Cat could also be of help to Sasuke.

Yu was never stingy with his own people. He still had an intelligent slime reserved for Naruto. Naruto was his good friend, and he remembered that.

When giving gifts, he had to spread the favor evenly. Otherwise, if Naruto learned that he had given Sasuke a gift but not him, Naruto would definitely feel hurt inside even if he said nothing.

Naruto now regarded Yu as a very good brother, and Yu felt the same way.

To Yu, Sasuke and Naruto were still the powerful thighs he could rely on. Even if he encountered some plot-driven calamity in the future, having these two chosen protagonists around meant having one more lifesaving strand of hair.