The Dark Ninja Cat Realm

The Dark Ninja Cat Realm

The so-called Dark Ninja Cat Realm was a huge castle shaped like a cat. It was hidden by a barrier, and without someone to guide them or a good knowledge of the area, nobody could find the Ninja Cat Castle.

Naraku used the Body Flicker Technique to arrive at the entrance to the Ninja Cat Castle. A moment later, with a series of swishes, more than a dozen guards landed behind him.

Two Ninja Cats stood at the castle entrance, pointing their spears at Naraku and shouting:

"Who are you? Humans aren't welcome here!"

"Stay hidden outside," Naraku instructed his followers behind him.

Then Naraku's Sharingan glowed crimson as he walked straight inside. He ignored the two nameless little cats.

The two noisy Ninja Cats stood frozen, clearly caught in an illusion.

Naraku entered the main hall of the Ninja Cat Castle. Dozens of Ninja Cats were singing and dancing inside, having a grand time.

Several of them noticed Naraku, the unexpected visitor.

"Huh? Lord Naraku, meow."

Kozunmaru was there too. He looked surprised to see Naraku.

Kozunmaru carried two Ninja Swords on his back. At nearly a meter tall, he was considered a large Ninja Cat.

"Lord Naraku, meow, what brings you to the Ninja Cat Castle, meow?"

"Oh, Kozunmaru, you're here too. I've come to pay a visit to the King of Ninja Cats, the Two-Tailed Cat. Could you please let him know I'm here?"

Naraku was perfectly calm. Apart from a few of the Ninja Cats, most of them were weak and posed no threat to him.

"Oh! Of course, meow. Please wait here, Lord Naraku, meow. I'll go inform him, meow."

Kozunmaru quickly turned and went to inform the King of Ninja Cats, the Two-Tailed Cat.

Naraku folded his arms and closed his eyes.

"Granny Cat was right. This King of Ninja Cats has lured away quite a few Ninja Cats raised by the Uchiha Clan."

Naraku spotted many familiar Ninja Cats. Summoning Beasts had different ways of thinking from humans. These cats believed they could live anywhere, and they could be summoned through the Summoning Contract regardless.

But their summoners didn't want unexpected problems to arise. Especially in battle, if the Summoning Technique brought forth an injured Ninja Cat or something else went wrong, it could prove fatal during a brief fight.

After entering, Naraku decided that the Ninja Cat Castle was a good place to let intelligent Ninja Cats live freely.

But Granny Cat had to remain the Uchiha Clan's foremost caretaker of Ninja Cats. That could not change.

Besides, some Ninja Cats needed to be spread throughout the Shinobi World to gather intelligence for the Uchiha. If they all stayed cooped up in the castle, the Uchiha's intelligence network would suffer.

"Meow, Lord Naraku, please come with me."

Kozunmaru soon returned to the hall and beckoned Naraku over.

Naraku followed Kozunmaru deeper into the castle.

The dozens of Ninja Cats in the hall ranged in size from tigers to ordinary housecats. Most wore short jackets, and quite a few carried weapons.

Ninja Cats possessed intelligence comparable to humans. The Uchiha considered them excellent intelligence gatherers who were skilled in Taijutsu.

Beyond that, there wasn't much else remarkable about them.

Most of the cats here fit the Uchiha's description, but there were always a few unusual ones with rare abilities.

Like Kozunmaru, whom Naraku liked to summon. He was skilled in Sensory Ninjutsu and had been a great help to Naraku, making him Naraku's favorite Ninja Cat to summon.

Naraku followed Kozunmaru for nearly twenty minutes at a brisk pace, passing through several stairways and wings of the castle.

At last, they reached Tenshukaku.

"Meow, Lord Naraku, Lord Matatabi is inside, meow." (In this book, the Two-Tails is called Matatabi, while this Ninja Cat is called Nekomata.)

"Good work, Kozunmaru."

Naraku tossed Kozunmaru a few of his favorite dried fish and entered Tenshukaku.

After climbing the stairs, he reached the Two-Tailed Cat's resting place.

A huge curtain in the chamber concealed the Two-Tailed Cat. From its shadow, Naraku could tell that it was enormous.

"What brings the leader of the Uchiha here?"

A deep voice came from behind the curtain.

"Mr. Nekomata, forgive my abrupt visit. I heard that many of the Ninja Cats raised by the Uchiha have come to your castle. Thank you for looking after them. I came especially to pay my respects."

"Is that all?"

"Yes. Here is a list of gifts. Please take a look."

Naraku produced a list of gifts and flicked it through a gap in the curtain like a Kunai. It shot through.

Then Naraku took out a Storage Scroll and formed a Hand Seal. A cloud of smoke rose from the scroll, revealing several boxes.

"As expected of the Uchiha leader. I've done nothing of consequence, yet you've gone to such expense."

After looking over the list and seeing the boxes Naraku had summoned through the curtain, Nekomata's tone grew more courteous.

"This is only a gift to mark our meeting, Mr. Nekomata. There's no need to be so polite."

"If possible, I'd like to sign a Summoning Contract with you, Mr. Nekomata. Your Ninja Cat Castle is an excellent home for Ninja Cats. The Uchiha raise many of them, and I hope we can send them here as well."

After offering gifts and exchanging pleasantries, Naraku finally stated his purpose: he wanted to sign a contract with this Ninja Cat.

"I see..."

The Ninja Cat's voice was low. Through the shadow behind the curtain, Naraku saw it forming Hand Seals.

The scene inside Tenshukaku changed. The chamber, where the night sky had still been visible, became like a basement, with yellow lights flickering on the walls.

A woman in a kimono stood with her back to Naraku, licking an oil lamp.

"Genjutsu: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change."

Naraku saw the Ninja Cat forming Hand Seals and naturally wasn't caught in the Genjutsu. The Uchiha Clan's Genjutsu, combined with the Sharingan's Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, reflected the illusion back at its caster.

The basement vanished. After a flash of black light, they were back in Tenshukaku.

Nekomata had taken a hit from its own Genjutsu and was now panting heavily. It felt a little panicked. Nekomata was a kind of cat demon. It had finally gained intelligence and cultivated considerable power.

At that moment, Nekomata realized it had picked a fight with someone formidable.

Nekomata now understood that the Uchiha leader below was powerful, someone it could not handle.

Its usual trick of controlling people with Genjutsu and then eating them was completely out of the question now.

And judging by how easily the Uchiha leader had dispelled the Genjutsu and reflected it back at Nekomata, refusing his offer today would likely end badly.

Naraku chuckled softly and said calmly, "I wonder if you like the gifts I brought, Mr. Nekomata. And what do you think of my proposal?"

From their brief exchange, Naraku had gotten a rough idea of Nekomata's strength. It was at the elite Jonin level, but no match for a Uchiha with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

An elite Jonin was no pushover. A Genin or Chunin with a Summoning Beast like this could face a Jonin without fear.

The curtain slowly drew back, revealing the Two-Tailed Cat.

It was as tall as a two-story building, with white fur and a long tail that split at the end, making it look like it had two tails. It really was a cat demon.

"Lord Naraku, I like your gifts very much. Let's sign the contract."

The white Nekomata had even changed how it addressed Naraku. Naraku's lips curled up. When someone went out of their way to give you something, there was always a catch.

Nothing came for free. Naraku's approach had simply been to offer courtesy before resorting to force.

Nekomata understood that the stronger side made the rules and took it in stride.

The gift list included five hundred dried fish, fifty bottles of wine, and some crystal wine glasses.

Before coming, Naraku had done his homework on the white Nekomata's preferences with Granny Cat.