The battle began.
Red Cat sat on the ground, tilting its head as it watched Akamaru. Its tail, as long as its body, swished through the air, full of teasing provocation.
"Ruff... woof..."
Akamaru was furious at Red Cat's taunting and launched the first attack. He was going to teach that detestable big red cat a lesson it would never forget.
Akamaru was indeed a worthy representative of the Inuzuka Clan's new generation of Ninja Dogs, with excellent qualities in every regard. As he sprinted at full speed, he turned into a white blur and charged at Red Cat. He didn't run in a straight line, either, showing that he had a pretty good combat instinct.
Dogs had heads of bronze, bones of iron, and waists of tofu. As a Ninja Dog, Akamaru naturally didn't have the weakness of a tofu waist, while his traits of a bronze head and iron bones had been greatly enhanced.
If a puppy's bite wasn't strong enough, then a head-on collision would do as an attack.
Don't underestimate the force of Akamaru's collision. If an ordinary adult had been standing in front of him, getting hit like that would have left them barely able to breathe.
But Red Cat remained seated, not moving an inch. It didn't take Akamaru's attack seriously at all.
Just as Akamaru was about to hit Red Cat, everyone present felt an incredibly powerful surge of Chakra gather and erupt from Red Cat.
The air current from the Chakra burst sent Akamaru flying.
The two Chunin teachers responsible for keeping order immediately changed expressions. It was clear that Red Cat had far more Chakra than they did, which meant its strength was beyond anything they could resist.
Red Cat had the bloodline of a Fire-breathing Ninja Bird and could breathe flames by using the Chakra within its body. However, ordinary Fire-breathing Ninja Birds had very little Chakra and ranked among the weakest Ninja Beasts. At best, their flames were only good for roasting bugs or scaring off predators.
But thanks to its two Chakra Hearts, Red Cat had an abundant supply of Chakra. With so much Chakra at its disposal, its flames were incredibly powerful.
Everyone nearby felt the air temperature rising. In particular, the air around Red Cat began to shimmer, a sign of extreme heat.
It was easy to imagine that if Red Cat had attacked, the little puppy Akamaru would have been burned to ash—and the dozens of students nearby would have met the same fate.
Yu stood far away, watching without making a move. He knew Red Cat wouldn't attack. Its ruby-red eyes gleamed with sly amusement. It was just trying to scare Akamaru.
After being sent flying, Akamaru lay flat on the ground, not daring to move. He clutched his head with both little paws. A Ninja Dog's keen senses let him understand just how great the gap between himself and Red Cat was. The suppression he felt from this difference in strength was even more terrifying than anything he'd experienced from his parents or the Ninja Dogs back at the Inuzuka Clan compound.
Most notably, a puddle slowly appeared beneath Akamaru. He'd wet himself in fear.
Only after seeing Akamaru like this did Red Cat nod in satisfaction and withdraw all its power. Red Cat was as intelligent as a human, so it naturally wouldn't go too far in a place like this.
For some reason, Red Cat simply wanted to teach Akamaru a lesson. Besides, Kiba Inuzuka had just come over to find Sasuke, and Red Cat thought he hadn't shown Sasuke enough respect. 'God' had told it to protect Sasuke well, so Kiba Inuzuka was the one who'd have to suffer for it.
The whole thing took less than ten seconds. Just as the Chunin teachers were preparing to call for reinforcements, Red Cat stopped its attack. Its Chakra Hearts stopped working at the same time, and before long, it was back to being the same ordinary big cat as before, with no hint of its power visible.
Everyone nearby had focused their attention on Red Cat—and its owner, Sasuke.
Though Red Cat's power had startled Sasuke too, he was good at controlling his expression. From the moment Red Cat began using its power until it withdrew it, he maintained a cold, arrogant demeanor, as if everything had been under his control.
Sasuke, who was an expert at putting on airs, knew exactly what to do.
He looked at the dumbfounded Kiba Inuzuka and gave a soft snort. Then he turned and walked toward the classroom, as if to say, "I'll leave without taking a single cloud with me."
Red Cat hurried after Sasuke. As it passed Akamaru, it kicked a little dirt onto him with its hind paw, a deeply insulting gesture.
But no one noticed what Red Cat had done.
"(⊙o⊙) Wow! I'm so strong! I thought I was going to die just now!"
"I can't believe that really happened!"
"Even an ordinary Jonin couldn't match that kind of power, could they?"
"How did such a powerful Ninja Beast suddenly appear?"
"Red Cat-kun is just so cute!"
"Sasuke is so cool!"
"Sasuke-kun is the coolest!"
The last few remarks naturally came from lovestruck girls. Their focus was as strange as ever.
Red Cat's little display had thrown the whole training ground into chaos. Soon, the teachers announced that today's ninjutsu class was over early and sent everyone home.
Naruto had been among those who saw Red Cat's performance. Truthfully, deep down, he was happy for Sasuke. After all, they'd known each other for two years. Though they were supposedly "enemies" on the surface, deep down they already saw each other as friends—not to mention the bond that Naruto and Sasuke had always shared.
So Naruto was happy to see Sasuke's Ninja Beast win. But Sasuke's showy display had also left him feeling a little down, because once again, Sasuke had outdone him.
"How did Sasuke suddenly get such a powerful Ninja Beast?" No matter how hard Naruto thought about it, he couldn't figure it out. He'd been with Sasuke just yesterday, but today, Sasuke suddenly had such a powerful Ninja Beast by his side.
"Naruto, what are you thinking about?"
At that moment, Yu came up behind Naruto, patted him on the shoulder, and asked.
Naruto didn't need to turn around to know that the person behind him was Yu.
"Yu, do you know why Sasuke suddenly has such a powerful Ninja Beast today? I saw the teachers looking scared just now.
You've been with Sasuke this whole time. Do you know where he got his Ninja Beast?" Naruto asked Yu, half excited and half confused.
Yu grinned and replied, "You mean Red Cat? I gave it to Sasuke."
"Huh?"
Naruto's face was full of disbelief.
Before you continue