Konoha Cat-Catching Mission

"How could this be? Did the Hokage give you such a rare mission?"

"That shouldn't be!"

Neji stopped walking. "This mission is strange!"

"I found this mission at the trading market; it wasn't issued by the village."

Qinglong chuckled awkwardly. The village hadn't even assigned him a mission yet.

"Nani!"

Neji looked at Qinglong in shock. Tenten and Little Lee also looked at him in surprise.

Kid, you're something else. Is this a mission that we ordinary genin, or even you, a newly-minted genin, can take on!

Qinglong waved his hand helplessly. It was what it was.

Neji sighed.

"We'll accompany you and do our best to help you complete your mission. If it becomes impossible, Qinglong, you need to be prepared to give up the mission and retreat promptly."

"Don't worry!"

Qinglong made a gesture to them.

"Follow behind me. If the mission becomes impossible, we all need to retreat promptly."

After cresting a hill, the target was just ahead.

Little Lee and the others followed closer and saw a massive, ferocious tiger lying asleep on a giant rock.

The three were instantly terrified, their hair standing on end. The tiger's snore was like thunder, and one of its claws was as big as a person. A young boy wouldn't even be enough to fill one of its paws!

But Qinglong looked at the giant tiger, his heart already itching for a fight.

Little Lee and the others quickly tried to stop him, determined to drag him away quietly.

But it was too late. The tiger was incredibly alert. It suddenly opened its eyes; the slight noise from the four had already woken it.

"Roar!"

The giant tiger roared, shook its head, and looked at the four small figures before it.

Unexpectedly, food has arrived just as I woke up! The giant tiger was immensely pleased.

Its gaze towards them softened.

"Run!"

Neji shouted. Tenten and Little Lee heard the command and instantly turned to flee.

After they had run a distance away, they looked back and saw Qinglong still standing in the same spot.

All three stopped and yelled at Qinglong.

"Qinglong, are you stupid! Run!"

Qinglong turned his head, gave a thumbs-up, and said confidently.

"Don't worry, I can still handle this kind of prey."

"Roar!"

The giant tiger leaped high into the air, lunging at him.

The instant its claws were about to grab the person before it, the small figure vanished.

The giant tiger roared in frustration, thinking it was still dreaming.

"I'm here!"

Qinglong shouted from high in the air. The moment the giant tiger looked up, he descended from the sky with a clenched fist!

"Boom!"

A heavy punch landed squarely on the giant tiger's head.

The giant tiger roared, its entire jaw smashing into the ground. It tried to lift its head, but it felt like it was being crushed by a mountain, pinning it so it couldn't move at all.

The giant tiger roared incessantly, its claws gouging huge pits in the ground, but the small palm on its head pressed down, rendering it immobile.

Qinglong changed his fist into a palm, pressing the giant tiger down, unable to move. However, the giant tiger continued to roar, its huge tiger eyes filled with ferocity and defiance.

Qinglong swung his other hand and punched down, then punched down again.

"Aow!"

The giant tiger let out a pained cry, its head spinning, and its whole body went limp.

Little Lee, Neji, and Tenten watched this scene in stunned silence.

Then, they saw Qinglong grab the giant tiger's tail, drape it over his shoulder, and drag the still unconscious giant tiger back.

Little Lee and the other two swallowed hard, watching Qinglong drag a giant tiger that was still taller than him even when downed. This scene was deeply imprinted in their minds.

The tiger king, once dominant in the region, was now being dragged like a dead pig, leaving a huge trail on the ground.

Neji swallowed and nervously reminded him.

"Um, Kiyotaki-kun, don't you need to tie up that giant tiger?"

"Ah! No need, it can't hurt anyone!"

Qinglong said reassuringly.

Neji and the other two were still a bit uneasy, leading the way far ahead of the giant tiger. After all, with Qinglong behind them, the giant tiger couldn't possibly get past him to harm them, right?

They dragged the giant tiger along for a while before it finally woke up. Looking at the scenery gradually receding, it finally understood its situation.

The human, whose strength was terrifyingly immense, was dragging it along by its tail.

The giant tiger let out a fearful roar and ran back on all fours.

But it couldn't move at all!

It sprinted on its four legs, yet it was still moving backward.

Little Lee, Neji, and Tenten, watching the tiger being dragged backward even as it ran on all fours, like it was doing a moonwalk, couldn't help but feel a sliver of sympathy.

Finally, it let out a mournful cry, its four paws digging tightly into the ground, leaving four deep claw marks as it was dragged.

As for attacking or resisting, it didn't dare to resist at all!

At the Konohagakure village, the Konoha gatekeepers, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, were stunned. A teenager was dragging a tiger as if it were a kitten.

Qinglong greeted them at the gate and dragged the giant tiger through the gates of Konoha. The giant tiger seemed to sense its fate and suddenly struggled with all its might, trying to escape.

Qinglong turned back and struck it with a palm.

"Behave. Don't worry, I won't sell you to be made into tiger meat soup."