D-Rank Mission

Konoha, Mission Assignment Office.

"D-rank mission: Help the flower shop owner carry her goods. Reward: 3,000 ryo."

"D-rank mission: Look after a three-year-old child from the Akimichi Clan for a day. Make sure he doesn't swallow anything he shouldn't. Reward: 2,500 ryo."

"D-rank mission: Find 'Tama,' the pet cat belonging to the wife of the Land of Fire's daimyo. It's pure white with blue eyes and a golden bell around its neck.

Reward: 5,000 ryo."

Matsumoto Ryūichi slapped the mission scroll on the table and regarded the three new members of his squad with a solemn expression.

"This one. Find the cat."

Haruno Kazuya and Fujiwara Itsuki leaned in to read the mission details. Uchiha Ryūha remained where he was, his gaze sweeping across the bustling mission hall.

Ninjas of all sorts came and went. Most of the Genin wore long faces as they carried goods or led around crying children.

The Chunin hurried about, while the Jonin instructors stood among their respective groups.

As for Jonin who weren't instructors?

Uchiha Ryūha had spotted only two.

It was an ordinary morning.

"The daimyo's wife's cat..." Haruno Kazuya scratched his head. "That sounds like a real pain. Cats are fast, and they love squeezing into corners."

"And the reward's so high because it'll be hard to find," Fujiwara Itsuki added earnestly.

Matsumoto Ryūichi snorted. "That's why I chose it.

"D-rank missions aren't for you to fool around on. They're meant to build your fundamentals—your teamwork, in particular.

"Especially certain people..." He shot Ryūha a pointed glance.

"Don't think you can be a ninja just because you know a few flashy genjutsu tricks.

"If your fundamentals aren't up to scratch, you'll die on the battlefield."

Uchiha Ryūha pushed up his glasses and said nothing.

He could guess what this mediocre Jonin was thinking. The old man, the Third Hokage, had probably given him instructions, too.

There was no helping it. He had stood out a little too much in the graduation exam.

Someone from Shimura Danzō's faction had even ambushed him when he went to the Police Force. The Uchiha Clan was simply too sensitive a subject.

"Let's go. The cat was last seen in the noble district southeast of the Land of Fire's capital, about ten miles from here."

Matsumoto Ryūichi turned and headed for the exit. "Kazuya, gather information. Itsuki, stay alert. Ryūha—"

He paused, his tone cool. "You'll carry the cage and the bait. Once we find the cat, you'll be in charge of catching and watching it.

"It's basic physical work. Any problem with that?"

"Yes, sensei," Uchiha Ryūha replied calmly.

Haruno Kazuya and Fujiwara Itsuki exchanged a glance.

They had both heard the hostility in their teacher's words, but neither dared say anything.

The three of them collected the cat-catching gear: a large bamboo cage, a pack of dried-fish bait, and a pair of thick leather gloves.

Uchiha Ryūha silently slung the cage over his back and hung the bag of dried fish from his waist.

The bamboo cage was heavy, and the fish reeked.

With the old gloves, he certainly looked like a hired hand.

Some Genin nearby cast him sympathetic looks. A few Uchiha who spotted him from a distance wore gleeful expressions.

"Look, it's Uchiha Ryūha, the one who made such a big splash before. Now he's been sent to catch cats."

"So much for being a genius. In the teacher's eyes, he still has to do the grunt work."

"Jonin Matsumoto is famous for being strict. That kid's in for a rough time."

Uchiha Ryūha paid them no mind. He followed half a step behind Matsumoto Ryūichi in silence, as though their gossip had nothing to do with him.

The capital of the Land of Fire, the noble district in the southeast.

The area was full of deep courtyards and towering walls. Its streets were clean but quiet.

The daimyo's wife's cat, Tama, had been missing for three days. She'd paid a hefty sum to hire ninjas to find it, which showed just how precious it was to her.

"According to witnesses, Tama was last seen around here. It likes wandering across rooftops and walls. It's timid and very fast."

Haruno Kazuya reported the information he'd gathered, reading from a small notebook.

"Split up," Matsumoto Ryūichi ordered. "Kazuya, Itsuki, search from east to west. Ryūha, you're on your own. Search from west to east.

"Focus on rooftops, walls, and treetops. If you spot any sign of it, don't act rashly. Send a signal."

"Yes!"

Haruno Kazuya and Fujiwara Itsuki leaped onto the wall and began searching carefully.

Ryūha, meanwhile, carried the cage and ambled down the alley, his gaze appearing to wander casually over his surroundings.

In reality, his Reiatsu sense had already spread silently, covering a radius of a hundred meters like a spiderweb.

Ten seconds later, he stopped and looked up at the roof of a mansion to his left.

There was a cat there, pure white, with sapphire-blue eyes.

It was lazily sprawled along the ridge of the roof, sunning itself. The golden bell around its neck glittered in the sunlight.

Found it.

But Ryūha didn't send a signal or make a move.

He set down the bamboo cage, took a piece of dried fish from the bag, and held it in his palm. Then...

He stopped completely suppressing his own presence.

A faint trace of Reiatsu, carrying a soothing quality, drifted slowly toward the cat.

At the same time, Kyoka Suigetsu's ability activated silently.

He didn't use Shikai this time, only a precise guiding of the senses.

To the cat, the dried fish in Ryūha's hand smelled irresistible.

Ryūha's presence, meanwhile, seemed gentle and harmless, even somehow inviting.

On the rooftop, the white cat Tama twitched its ears and looked down at Ryūha with its sapphire-like eyes.

After hesitating for a few seconds, it stood up and leaped lightly from the roof.

It walked over with elegant steps, rubbed against Ryūha's trouser leg, then hopped into the open bamboo cage and curled up on the soft cloth inside.

It narrowed its eyes in comfort and began eating the dried fish Ryūha offered it.

It didn't struggle at all. It acted as though it had come home.

Uchiha Ryūha shut the cage door and locked it.

The whole thing had taken less than a minute.

He picked up the cage and glanced at the white cat contentedly licking its paw inside, then gently pushed up his glasses.

Then he began to "put on a show."

He deliberately took a few extra turns around the alley, leaped from rooftop to rooftop, and even pretended to accidentally knock over a trash can, making a bit of noise.

He even used Reiatsu to coax a few drops of sweat onto his forehead and made his breathing sound a little labored.

Only when the mission was nearly over did Uchiha Ryūha release Tama from Kyoka Suigetsu's hypnosis.