A short while later, Shinji left the alley, fully satisfied.
To contract Meiqiu, he had paid a one-time fee of five hundred thousand, plus a hefty five thousand for each summoning.
Of course,
he had also laid down plenty of conditions.
For instance, Meiqiu wasn't allowed to leak even the slightest bit of information about him to anyone—not even the other Ninja Cats.
And as long as he was alive, Meiqiu couldn't sign a Summoning Contract with any other ninja. It had to serve him alone.
After settling things with Meiqiu, Shinji didn't leave the Land of Cats right away. Instead, he went to see One-Eyed Dragon and Tricolor Cat, then returned to the tabby cat who sold information.
This time, he held a thousand in his hand. "I've met all the ones you mentioned, and I'm not satisfied with any of them. If you want to earn this money, introduce me to another truly formidable cat!"
The tabby cat stared fixedly at the bills in Shinji's hand. "What, you weren't satisfied with even One-Eyed Dragon? That guy fought in the Third Shinobi World War and went up against Jonin from Iwagakure. He's one tough cat!"
"Too ugly!"
"Uh..." Reluctantly tearing its gaze away from the money, the tabby cat thought for a moment, then said, "Princess Feng Ji!"
Shinji was puzzled. "A princess?"
"Specializes in Wind Release!"
As it spoke, the tabby cat gave him a knowing look.
Shinji froze for a moment before he caught on.
The Uchiha Clan was generally skilled in Fire Release and Ninja Tool Throwing, so they paired best with Ninja Cats who specialized in Wind Release.
As the saying went, wind fanned the flames. If the two worked well together, they could easily perform Compound Ninjutsu and greatly increase its power.
That made Ninja Cats skilled in Wind Release highly sought after by Uchiha ninjas.
While Shinji was distracted, the tabby cat leaped up, snatched the money from his hand, then took a poster from its little pouch and tossed it to him.
Shinji picked up the poster and saw that its model was a graceful white cat with a refined air.
The more he looked, the more familiar the cat seemed. Then it hit him: this was the same white cat model he'd seen on an advertisement for a hair salon by the street.
"Is this your Land of Cats' princess?"
Only after asking did Shinji look up, but the tabby cat had already vanished.
"It ran off?" He frowned and muttered, "I've never heard of the Land of Cats having a princess."
Meiqiu specialized in covert work and couldn't be seen in public.
To cover that up, Shinji needed to contract another Ninja Cat. So he didn't dwell on it and followed the address on the poster to find Princess Feng Ji, who was filming a promotional advertisement.
When Princess Feng Ji saw Shinji approach with her poster, she said with an air of refinement, "You want an autograph too? Honestly, it's such a bother being chased around by admirers!"
With that, she sashayed over to Shinji.
Then she opened a box of ink, pressed her plump front paw into it, and stamped it onto the poster in Shinji's hand.
Looking at the faint paw print on the poster, Shinji wore a strange expression. "I'm not here for an autograph!"
Princess Feng Ji said displeasedly, "If you want a photo together, I suggest you abandon that disrespectful idea!"
Shinji couldn't be bothered with pleasantries. "Are you really the princess of the Land of Cats?"
Princess Feng Ji replied proudly, "Is there another Ninja Cat in the Land of Cats as perfect as I am?"
Shinji thought, Her status isn't ordinary. Contracting her probably won't be easy.
Then he reconsidered. Contracting a famous Ninja Cat like her would be a great way to conceal Meiqiu's existence.
Clack.
So he tossed over the contract. "I want to sign a contract with you. Name your price! Set whatever conditions you want!"
Princess Feng Ji, who had already turned to leave, stopped and sauntered over to the contract.
After getting Princess Feng Ji on board, Shinji put away the contract and mused to himself, From now on, I'm the Uchiha Clan's last cat fan—no, the last Uchiha who uses Ninja Cats!
Itachi had contracted a Ninja Crow, making him the representative of the Ninja Crow style.
Sasuke would either play with snakes or take up hawks in the future.
So Shinji really was the last Uchiha in the Shinobi World who used Ninja Cats!
Having taken care of what he needed to do, Shinji didn't linger in the Land of Cats or visit Cat Granny. He just replenished his ninja tools and Explosive Tags, then hurried back to Konoha at full speed.
He had left the village to contract a Ninja Cat and find out whether Danzo would make a move against him, not to defect. The longer he stayed outside the village, the less safe he'd be.
He raced onward, and by dusk, he finally saw Konoha's walls.
"Phew... phew..."
He bent over, bracing his hands on his knees as he panted heavily.
He didn't know if it was because he had Chakra, but even as a beginner, his Breathing Technique gave him several times the endurance the swordsmen in his memory fragments had when they first learned it.
As expected, the stronger a cultivator's body, the higher the ceiling of their Breathing Technique...
After catching his breath, he strode toward the village gate.
The ninja on gate duty looked surprised to see Shinji back.
The Land of Cats wasn't far from the village, but for an eight-year-old Ninja Academy student like Shinji, it should have taken until the next day at the earliest to return.
Yet he had made it back before nightfall.
After getting his temporary pass checked off at the village gate, Shinji went straight back to his apartment.
On the way, he wondered, The person sent to watch me is dead, yet Danzo hasn't made a move at all. That's not like him. Did something else happen last night, distracting the village leadership? Are they too busy to come after me for now?
Thinking of the chaos of the previous night gave him a headache.
There had been so many unexpected events in a row that even after going over them several times today, he still couldn't tell whether he had inadvertently left behind any clues.
As soon as he got back to his apartment, he ran into Iruka and two ANBU escorting Haku downstairs.
Haku's been arrested?!
His expression turned stern, and his whole body tensed, ready for a fight.
Iruka saw Shinji return and looked surprised. "Shinji, weren't you leaving the village?"
Shinji watched Iruka and the others. Seeing no sign that they were hostile toward him, he said, "Teacher Iruka, I just got back. By the way, what's going on?"
Iruka didn't answer right away. He nodded to one of the ANBU beside him, then patted Haku on the shoulder. "Don't worry. It'll be fine."
"I know," Haku replied calmly.
Soon, the two ANBU led Haku away.
Watching the three of them leave, Shinji turned to Iruka. "Teacher Iruka, why did the village's ANBU take Haku away?"
After hesitating, Iruka said, "The village received a protest from Kirigakure today. They want us to hand Haku over."
"What?"
Shinji didn't understand at first.
Iruka seemed to be choosing his words. After a moment, he continued, "Actually... Haku's clan isn't from Konoha."
Shinji said nothing, continuing to look at Iruka in confusion.
Iruka sighed at the sight. "Haku's clan, the Snow Clan, was a bloodline clan from Kirigakure. For certain reasons, Kirigakure wiped them out, so the village took in Haku, the sole surviving member of the Snow Clan."
Shinji's expression darkened. "So Kirigakure protested and demanded that we hand Haku over?"
Iruka assumed Shinji had thought of his own background, so he said, "Don't worry. The village won't hand Haku over. The ANBU you just saw were sent by Lord Hokage to escort him to a safe house."
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