The Cat-Catching Mission

"Is it really alright for us to just watch like this?" Uchiha Izumi asked, holding a bamboo skewer while watching Tōyama jumping and scrambling after a cat.

"What's wrong with it? He needs the exercise anyway. We're giving him an opportunity; he should be thanking us," Hyuga Gen replied as if it were only natural, then took a bite of his skewer. Delicious.

"Don't stop, keep eating. It'll get cold soon, and I'll go buy more once we finish," Hyuga Gen said, nudging Uchiha Izumi with his left elbow to signal her to hurry up and finish the skewers in the paper bowl he was holding.

The paper bowl was quite large and packed with skewers, including the meatballs that Uchiha Izumi loved.

Hyuga Gen had bought them specifically—well, actually, he'd just happened to pass by while chasing the cat and decided to pick some up. Mostly, he just felt that eating skewers while watching Tōyama run around like a headless chicken was quite satisfying.

"Mmm, these grilled skewers are indeed quite good, though I still prefer my meatballs," Uchiha Izumi said, picking up a skewer of meatballs and squinting happily after taking a bite.

Uchiha Izumi also found that eating while watching the show from the sidelines was actually quite pleasant.

The cat-catching mission seemed simple, but it was actually far from easy. The cat was light, agile, and incredibly swift, an expert at climbing trees and squeezing through holes. Since they couldn't hurt it, it was honestly quite difficult for one person to catch it.

Hyuga Gen had tried it earlier and it had taken him quite some effort. Of course, his Byakugan had been a huge help, saving him the time he would have otherwise spent searching for the cat; without it, it would have taken even longer.

Izumi had also tried once and managed to catch the kitten without much trouble. In the interest of fairness, they had let Tōyama have a turn, so they had let the kitten go again.

Then, Hyuga Gen had entered spectator mode. He was being completely heartless; when Izumi was catching it, he had helped by blocking paths and searching, but once it was Tōyama's turn, he just sat back to watch the show, even dragging Uchiha Izumi along with him.

The cat seemed to be getting angry, too. What are you guys trying to do? You caught me twice and let me go both times—are you looking down on me? Do you think I'm that easy to catch? No, I absolutely have to show you what I'm made of! It decided to take revenge, causing as much trouble as it possibly could.

It ran past the women's bathhouse, squeezed into narrow gaps, and knocked the merchandise of a small shop all over the ground.

The show along the way was truly entertaining. When Tōyama saw Hyuga Gen's spectator-like expression, he really wanted to run over and beat him up, but unfortunately, he knew he couldn't win.

"Come, come, this is a reward for your hard work. That's enough for today, leave the rest to us," Hyuga Gen said, feeling a twinge of guilt as he looked at Tōyama's miserable state, complete with a red handprint on his face. It was getting late.

"Izumi, let's go," Hyuga Gen said, running toward the northeast. He had just seen the kitten head in that direction, and it would be a good way to digest their meal.

At least you two have a conscience, Tōyama thought as he took the skewers Hyuga Gen handed him. Of course, when he realized the paper bowl was filled only with empty wooden sticks, his mood plummeted.

By then, Hyuga Gen and Uchiha Izumi had already found the kitten and cornered it in a gap. Hyuga Gen couldn't understand why there was such a narrow space between the buildings; they should have either left no space at all or made it a proper alleyway.

The kitten licked its paw and looked at Hyuga Gen with a mocking expression. Can't get in, can you? I'll just wait right here and see what you can do.

"It won't come out. What now?" Uchiha Izumi asked, looking at Hyuga Gen from across the gap.

Hyuga Gen simply crouched down and, as if performing a magic trick, pulled out a small dried fish, held it between his fingers, waved it in front of the kitten, and made a "meow" sound.

Wow, this fish smells so good, the kitten thought, its mouth instantly watering. It caught the scent of the dried fish and looked at the treat in Hyuga Gen's hand with longing.

Hmph, you think a single dried fish can tempt me? You're dreaming, boy, the kitten thought dismissively, though it couldn't take its eyes off the fish.

Maybe I should just go over; it's no big deal. It hesitated as Hyuga Gen pulled out a second dried fish and waved it around, its legs moving forward two steps against its will.

No, I have to have some backbone. How can I be swayed by just two dried fish—

Fine, I'll go over. They aren't bad people, and it's time to go home anyway; my owner must be worried. Seeing Hyuga Gen pull out a third dried fish, it walked over without hesitation and jumped into his arms.

"Where did you get those dried fish?" Uchiha Izumi asked curiously, looking at the now-docile kitten in Hyuga Gen's arms.

"I saw someone drying them on the road earlier and 'borrowed' a few," Hyuga Gen said calmly.

"That's not very nice of you," Uchiha Izumi said. Although a few dried fish were nothing—and the cat had probably stolen more than that—she still felt it wasn't the right thing to do.

"It's fine, I left some silver coins where they were, so consider it a purchase," he said, then took out a few more and stuffed them into the kitten's mouth.

The first mission ended successfully. Hyuga Gen knew that many more missions awaited them, and they would likely get harder each time.

Lying in bed and thinking things over had become a habit for Hyuga Gen.

He had visited Hyuga Natsu yesterday, and they had met with Yu Zhihui as well. When he learned that Yu Zhihui had joined the Medical Corps, Hyuga Gen felt a secret sense of relief.

Joining the Medical Corps was a good choice. It might be tiring, but it was relatively safe; they rarely left the village for missions, focusing instead on helping at the hospital and studying medical ninjutsu.

Konoha's medical system wasn't very advanced at the moment, and few people joined the Medical Corps because it was exhausting, difficult to achieve recognition in, and hard to advance.

There were no brilliant doctors yet, and many illnesses or injuries couldn't be treated, often leading to mockery and verbal abuse from the families of the wounded. Furthermore, the medical system wasn't highly valued by the upper echelons.

However, Hyuga Gen knew that in a few years, the Medical Corps would become highly sought after, to the point where everyone would want to join but few would be able to. That was because she would return—the world-renowned medical ninja, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.

Of course, what he didn't know was that Yu Zhihui's choice to join the medical field had to do with Hyuga Natsu, because Hyuga Natsu had previously said in front of her: "I actually kind of want to join the Medical Corps."

When Yu Zhihui asked Hyuga Natsu why she had that thought, what Hyuga Natsu said touched her deeply:

"If I master medical arts, then if Brother Dongyi ever gets hurt, I'll be able to help him."

"I know I might never surpass Brother Dongyi in strength in this lifetime, so..." She didn't finish her sentence, but Yu Zhihui naturally understood what she meant.

"Today's mission is done. We'll likely be stuck doing D-rank missions in the village for a while; C-rank or higher missions probably won't happen until next year."

He would be twelve next year, and there were many things he wanted to accomplish.