Lu Yu and the others watched the Third Hokage mutter about missions and couldn't help gathering around, curious.
Lu Yu knew this was just the beginning. The missions they got wouldn't be anything difficult; they'd mostly be menial chores. But with his lazy nature, he'd rather die than do all that dirty, backbreaking work.
Lu Yu quickly scanned the missions on the Third Hokage's desk. His eyes lit up as he came up with an idea, and he spoke up before anyone else could:
"Mr. Asuma, I think this mission to find Mrs. Murakami's cat looks good. It'll help us sharpen our observation skills and test how well we work as a team. How about we take it?"
Asuma was momentarily stunned by Lu Yu's suggestion. He'd been planning to take a weeding mission, but after hearing Lu Yu's reasoning, he thought it over and decided it made sense.
So Asuma nodded to the Third Hokage and said:
"Then we'll help Mrs. Murakami find her cat."
The Third Hokage nodded and handed Asuma a form.
After that, Asuma took the four of them through the process of accepting a mission.
Then he led them to the home of a wealthy family. Waiting for them was a broad-featured, middle-aged woman—Mrs. Murakami.
Looking at Mrs. Murakami, even Asuma was stunned. So was Lu Yu, usually the calmest of them all.
The white powder caked on the rich woman's face had to weigh at least two pounds, and the lipstick smeared across her lips was downright painful to look at. Worst of all was her figure.
140-140-140!
She was practically a water barrel...
At that moment, they suddenly understood the cat. With such a terrifying owner, if they were cats, they'd run away too.
Mrs. Murakami looked at Asuma's rugged build and the manly aura that made her heart race. Her eyes couldn't help but light up.
Then the wealthy Mrs. Murakami waddled toward Asuma, swaying with what she clearly thought was irresistible charm.
Seeing the flesh on Mrs. Murakami's body wobble violently with every step, Lu Yu and the others couldn't help twitching at the corners of their mouths...
The next moment, Asuma watched with a face full of dread as Mrs. Murakami came up to him. She lifted her little finger daintily and spoke in a sugary voice:
"Dear ninja, my former husband passed away early. Before he left, all he left me for company was Ahu. Now Ahu's gone missing, and I'm terribly worried. I was wondering if you might..."
As Mrs. Murakami flirtatiously fluttered her eyelashes at him, Asuma's brow twitched wildly. Her sheer force of personality drove him back several steps. When she finally finished, he stammered:
"Please, please don't worry, ma'am. Could you give me... give me a picture of Ahu? I'll go and... and look for him right away."
"There's no rush, no rush..."
Mrs. Murakami grabbed Asuma by the wrist and laughed coquettishly.
"Dear ninja, you've come all this way to my humble home. You must be tired. Why not come in for a cup of tea and rest a little? You can look for Ahu afterward..."
The four of them looked at Asuma, whose face practically screamed for help, and helplessly shrugged.
The whole scene felt like a spider demoness catching Tang Sanzang: "Holy monk, come on in..."
Half an hour later, Mrs. Murakami, beaming with delight, waved at them reluctantly.
"Be careful, Mr. Asuma! If you can't find him today, you can always look again tomorrow. I'll make a whole table of dishes tonight, so remember to come over and eat..."
Asuma looked utterly aggrieved. When he heard Mrs. Murakami call after him, his whole body shuddered. Then he fled as if his life depended on it.
Choji munched on potato chips as he watched Asuma sprint away, puzzled.
"What's wrong with Mr. Asuma? I thought Mrs. Murakami was really nice to us..."
The other three silently shook their heads, patted Choji on the shoulder, and hurried after Asuma.
Ten minutes later, Asuma led them to the area where Ahu might have gone missing. He glanced back nervously and, after confirming Mrs. Murakami wasn't anywhere in sight, turned to the four of them.
"Our target is Ahu, Mrs. Murakami's pet. He's a plump, brown-striped Garfield cat, with a bow tied behind his right ear. Have you all memorized his distinguishing features?"
Lu Yu nodded, then suddenly said:
"Mr. Asuma, I'm good at finding animals. Why don't you leave this search to me? As for future weeding missions and the like, ahem, you know what I mean..."
"Oh? Lu Yu, are you sure? Mrs. Murakami gave us a search area a full ten kilometers across. If you can really find him, I'll let you sit out some of the physically demanding missions from now on."
Asuma glanced at the other three, who nodded in agreement, then turned to Lu Yu with an expectant look. He didn't want to do another second of this miserable mission.
Just to make things difficult for him, Mrs. Murakami had expanded the search area to ten kilometers.
Find one little cat in a ten-kilometer stretch of forest? There was no way...
Asuma had even begun to suspect that the directions she'd given him were wrong.
Now that this incredible kid, who could beat Kakashi in a fight, had volunteered to help, Asuma was more than happy to support him.
Lu Yu nodded and smiled at Asuma.
"Sure. It's a deal. Give me ten minutes."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yu disappeared from sight.
Then, out of view of the others, Lu Yu's speed shot up.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
If he wanted to keep living the lazy life, Lu Yu really was going all out.
He moved as fast as lightning, searching the vast forest in less than a minute.
When Lu Yu appeared again, he had a trembling, brown-striped Garfield cat in his hands. It was none other than the missing Ahu.
That evening, after Asuma returned Ahu to Mrs. Murakami, he fled as if his life depended on it.
Mrs. Murakami gazed at the ninja who didn't appreciate her affection. The corners of her lips curled up as she murmured:
"To find Ahu so quickly across such a vast area... What a capable and virile ninja. No, I can't give up just like that..."
Two months later.
After Team 10 was formed, they didn't take on missions very often.
So far, Asuma had led Team 10 through ten D-rank missions.
They'd been to find cats, find cats, find cats, find cats...
Mrs. Murakami seemed to have fallen in love with Asuma at first sight. Ever since the first time her cat went missing, she'd become relentless, specifically requesting Asuma by name. If Konoha refused, she'd make a fuss.
If she'd been an ordinary person, Konoha wouldn't have paid her any mind.
But Mrs. Murakami was powerful and influential, and she seemed to have some connection to the daimyo of the Land of Fire.
That made things miserable for Asuma. Under the pretense of looking for her cat, she'd taken liberties with him time and again, leaving him helpless.
Fortunately, after the first time, Mrs. Murakami stopped making things difficult for them. She gave them Ahu's precise "last known location," and they usually found him in no time.
Later on, all Lu Yu had to do was whistle, and Ahu would come running.
Once they'd finished the cat-finding mission, half their remaining time was for the four of them to rest, and the other half was spent training them.
Of course, Lu Yu was an exception, since Asuma didn't have anything to teach him anyway.
And so Lu Yu returned to his comfortable, lazy life.
Those days suited Lu Yu just fine. Whenever he'd spent long enough lazing around, he'd go to Mrs. Murakami's house for a feast and take the opportunity to play with the cat.
But for Asuma, the days dragged by endlessly. One morning, he hurried to the meeting point, and the four of them eyed his smiling face suspiciously.
Lu Yu asked curiously:
"Mr. Asuma, judging by that smile, did the rich Mrs. Murakami win you over with money?"
Asuma's face darkened at the question, making the others burst out laughing.
After the kids had finally stopped fooling around, Asuma announced:
"Considering how much you've improved over the past two months, today I'm taking you on a new miss—mission!"
The four of them didn't take him seriously at all and instinctively complained:
"Weeding and clearing the riverbanks? I still prefer finding cats..."
"Yeah, at least Mrs. Murakami treats us to a huge meal."
"Right, and Ahu knows us well now. All Lu Yu has to do is whistle, and the cat comes running. Why do we need a new mission? It's hard work for no reward."
Asuma glared at the four of them, their spirits completely gone, and shouted:
"I don't care! I've already accepted it! And it's a C-rank mission! You four, go pack your things right now! We leave this afternoon..."
Before you continue