Little Cat

Uchiha Gen directly converted the box of money he had obtained into system funds. These past few days, not wanting to draw attention, he had made the rounds of every casino.

But it seemed he had still been a little too high-profile. The major casinos had begun guarding against unfamiliar faces like his entering, making Uchiha Gen feel that they were being a bit stingy. He had only won a little from each place, not all that much.

Of course, Uchiha Gen was speaking without feeling the pain. It was not his money they had lost, but who would ever complain about making too much money?

He was still short a final one million ryo after scraping everything together. He kept one hundred thousand ryo as operating funds. Even if he did not need food or any luxuries, he still needed to change clothes and buy some Kunai, Shuriken, Explosive Tags, and the like.

However, the moment he came out of the ninja tool shop after buying his things, a black-and-white kitten inexplicably latched onto him. The kitten was a little dirty, and one of its ears was missing a small piece. It wound around his legs, looking eager to please.

But the problem was that he had not bought any food this time. Even with skin simulation, his body temperature was still much lower than that of an ordinary person. Why would animals like him?

Uchiha Gen picked the kitten up by the scruff of its neck. They stared wide-eyed at each other for a moment. In the end, he sighed and put it down. He would see whether it followed him.

"Boss, one fish!" Yet Uchiha Gen instinctively picked a fish slightly bigger than the kitten... Forget it. He took out the Kunai he had just bought and, in a few swift motions, removed the scales and innards before cutting the fish into small pieces.

Pinching a small piece of fish between his fingers, he waved it in front of the kitten. "Is this what you want?" Uchiha Gen asked.

The kitten's eyes immediately widened, and it meowed repeatedly. Uchiha Gen tossed it the piece of meat. The kitten grabbed it in its mouth and ran off.

Uchiha Gen: "..."

No, he had meant to give it that. Did it not want all the fish pieces still in his hand?

Could there be other kittens? Was this one their mother?

Half an hour later...

Uchiha Gen muttered to himself, "...Are we not there yet?" It had run this far to find food. Was it not worried that its babies might get eaten by other animals?

Or was it... The kitten darted into a dilapidated building. If it could even be called a building, this so-called house could not provide even the most basic shelter from the rain.

The kitten put down the fish and ran to a corpse, meowing loudly. Uchiha Gen watched in silence. It was the body of a little boy, perhaps seven or eight years old. Corpse spots had already begun appearing, and there were bruises on his body, especially on his legs. It looked like he had starved to death.

This was probably a rather tragic story, but Uchiha Gen had no interest in getting to the bottom of it. There were far too many people like this in this world... He could not help them all.

He looked at the kitten. There were also some dead sparrows and rats nearby, most of them half-eaten, along with a grilled sausage that was no longer edible.

The kitten was still meowing, as if asking its servant, What do you want to eat? I found food. Get up and eat, okay?

As it meowed, the kitten picked up the fish in its mouth and tried to feed it into the boy's mouth.

Uchiha Gen sighed inwardly and grabbed the kitten by the scruff in one swift motion. The kitten seemed shocked. Why had a person suddenly appeared behind it?

It instinctively tried to scratch Uchiha Gen, only to find that it could not reach him. After wriggling a few times, it finally gave up.

"Little thing, he's already dead. You know that, right?" Uchiha Gen said.

But he did not know what nerve he had touched. The kitten immediately became frantic. Somehow, it found the strength to tuck in its paws and kick, leaving several bloody scratches on Uchiha Gen's hand.

"..." Uchiha Gen was stunned. It could actually understand him? He activated his Sharingan and met the kitten's eyes. The kitten immediately quieted down, as if it had fallen asleep.

To be honest, in a place like this, the fact that the corpse had not been dragged away by wild dogs or other animals was already a kind of blessing. Uchiha Gen used Great Fireball to cremate him, placed the ashes in a jar, and buried it.

When the kitten woke up, it found itself being held in someone's arms. A piece of fish was held up to its mouth. Had its servant woken up? The kitten could no longer hold back and began wolfing it down, tears welling in the corners of its eyes.

Uchiha Gen took out some paper and wiped its face. It would not look good if tear tracks were left behind. At that moment, he was considering whether to take the kitten with him. After finishing its food, it fell asleep again.

"..." Well, he had not finished the fish yet. He would keep it for now and give it away once he found a suitable home.

He was still short one million ryo. He would hit a few more casinos, finish up, and call it a day.

It had to be said that under the Sharingan, everyone was holding their cards face-up. He could even see the little tricks some people used to cheat. Of course, as a fellow cheater, Uchiha Gen could not be bothered to expose them.

Seeing the number on the dice, Uchiha Gen bet small. Some others saw that Uchiha Gen seemed to have very good luck and followed his lead, betting small as well.

Yet this time, they lost. The dealer immediately breathed a sigh of relief. If so many people had won, the payout would have been enormous. If things got bad enough, he would have had to manipulate the outcome.

Suddenly, he heard an angry female voice. "I thought I could make some money this time, but this brat actually lost. Shizune, let's go somewhere else." Tsunade stormed off.

Shizune held Tonton and quickly caught up to Tsunade. "Lady Tsunade, you really cannot gamble anymore. We can barely afford the inn now."

Uchiha Gen: "..." He had already seen Tsunade when he entered this casino, but she had not come to this table earlier. After watching him win several times in a row, she had suddenly bet alongside him, just happening to choose the round where he had intended to throw the game. Her luck was truly something else.

But really, if she had won, that would have been the truly unlucky outcome.

Uchiha Gen rubbed the kitten's head. Unfortunately, he could not feel the smooth texture of its fur. The kitten looked a little dazed, but it no longer resisted. Who knew what was going through that tiny head of hers?

He deliberately headed somewhere secluded. "If you want to live, brat, hand over your money to us." Oh? Not bad. There were actually four robbers this time.

After coming out of the secluded area, Uchiha Gen confirmed the submission. Not bad. He was now only short four hundred and ten thousand ryo. Those four people had been fairly well-off; together, they had carried a full twenty thousand ryo.

Uchiha Gen complained, "Can the system give me a discount?"

But this time, the system did not even bother responding to him.

Uchiha Gen had never expected that even after transmigrating—and even after dying—he would still have a day when he worried about money.

He suddenly spotted a pet shop. Looking at the kitten in his arms, he decided to take her in for a bath. Come to think of it, did this body of his even need bathing?

Orochimaru, accompanied by Kabuto and dragging his ruined hands, was searching for Tsunade. As he passed by, his slit pupils narrowed slightly. It seemed like he had caught a familiar scent.

But the condition of his hands made him temporarily abandon those thoughts.

Uchiha Gen naturally sensed Orochimaru approaching as well. His attitude toward Orochimaru was: Stay the hell away from me. Do not bother me, and I will not bother you either. At least, not for now.