The Rabbit Next Door Eats Meatballs

Ye Yuexin thought it over and decided on this one. He handed it to Itachi Uchiha, who looked it over and had no objections.

Just like in the original story, Itachi was kindhearted. He didn't like missions that were too bloody, either.

After choosing a mission, Itachi immediately tore it off the board and handed it to the staff member at the counter.

Then the two of them submitted the information forms they had filled out when they graduated from the academy. The staff member registered them, and the mission was assigned to the two of them.

Afterward, a copy of the mission details was handed to Ye Yuexin. Looking at the deadline, he saw that they had only three days left.

There was no time to wait until tomorrow to set out. "Let's go back and get our things ready. We'll meet at the village gate in an hour."

Ye Yuexin didn't have much to pack, but since the mission would take them out of the village overnight, he tidied his room a little. He didn't need to bring anything with him.

That was right. When ninjas went out on missions, they were practically no different from ascetic monks, sleeping rough and braving the elements.

Ye Yuexin simply put a few Military Ration Pills he'd prepared earlier into the pouch at the back of his waist, just in case.

Then he headed for the Konoha Gate.

When he arrived, he saw Itachi Uchiha. He hadn't expected Itachi to get there even earlier than him.

But judging by the large pack on Itachi's back, he'd clearly prepared more thoroughly.

It couldn't be helped. Ye Yuexin didn't have much experience with this sort of thing.

After a quick check at the village entrance, Ye Yuexin and Itachi left the village.

This wasn't Ye Yuexin's first time leaving the village. Konoha was fairly relaxed about its ordinary villagers coming and going.

Ye Yuexin had gone outside the village to train several times. There was no need to apply for permission as long as he returned within the day.

The strict checks were for ninjas, since they often stayed away for a long time when they went on missions. No one could predict what might happen out there, so ninjas had to undergo a rigorous inspection before leaving the village. They needed a pass, which was included with missions ranked below A.

The mission site was quite far away. Ye Yuexin and Itachi agreed to travel through the forest. Ninjas usually took this route on missions. They could leap from tree to tree, and the branches were springy.

With chakra, they could jump a long distance. On flat ground, however, they would have to keep their chakra flowing the whole time.

Whenever they got tired along the way, Ye Yuexin and Itachi took a break. They made sure to keep at least half of their chakra in reserve.

Unless a mission was especially urgent, they had to do this. That was what they'd been taught at the Ninja Academy, and Ye Yuexin thought it made sense. When you were out in the wilderness, you had to be ready for danger at any moment.

They stopped to rest three times. It wasn't until dusk that Ye Yuexin and Itachi reached the village.

The village had only a few dozen households and wasn't very large.

The two of them simply informed the village chief, then headed toward the mountains. Ninjas had to keep their movements secret, so apart from the village chief, no one in the village knew they had arrived.

The rice paddies on both sides of the road were riddled with holes. They were probably rabbit burrows. Judging by the look of it, rabbits dug just as fast as rats.

Not far away, a white ball of fluff was still digging.

Dirt flew everywhere. That had to be a Big-Toothed Rabbit.

Ye Yuexin was still wondering about it when Itachi struck without warning. A Kunai shot out in an instant.

With a shriek, the Big-Toothed Rabbit was pinned to the ground by its hind leg.

That damn shriek startled Ye Yuexin. It sounded almost exactly like a person screaming, just a little quieter.

This was the first time Ye Yuexin had learned that rabbits sounded like that.

He hurried after Itachi.

A pure-white rabbit about the size of a washbasin lay on the ground, baring its teeth at them with a ferocious look.

Looking at it, you had to admit that if you ignored those two prominent front teeth, this breed of rabbit was pretty cute. It was so round and chubby.

They must have grown fat from all the food they'd eaten lately, with no natural predators around. The Big-Toothed Rabbit was certainly bold, raiding crops in broad daylight.

It was almost dark. Big-Toothed Rabbits usually hid in the burrows they dug during the day and only came out at night.

With nightfall approaching, Ye Yuexin figured they needed to come up with a way to handle them.

But eating came first. And here was a fresh meal, just waiting for them. They wouldn't have to eat Military Ration Pills after all. Ye Yuexin eyed the rabbit in Itachi's hand, already making plans.

He'd been looking forward to seeing Itachi Uchiha star in the classic "It's so cute, why would you eat it?" followed by "Ah, delicious!" routine. But Itachi was even more straightforward than Ye Yuexin.

There was no "It's so cute, why would you eat it?" followed by "Ah, delicious!" scene.

"What should we do in a bit?" Perhaps he'd gotten used to being around Ye Yuexin and knew he had more bright ideas, so Itachi asked him what he had in mind.

"Since they're social animals, it's better to wipe them all out at once." "Otherwise, if we only get rid of some of them, the rest might hide." Hearing Itachi ask, Ye Yuexin explained the idea he'd just come up with.

A little later.

Looking at the sky as it gradually darkened, he continued, "We'll use bait to lure them out, then attack them together."

They got right to work. After finding a patch of flat ground, Ye Yuexin and Itachi began scattering dry rice straw around it. Itachi understood the plan at a glance, and the two of them got to work. They arranged the dry straw in a large circle.

It made a simple trap. The rabbits weren't ninjas, after all, so Ye Yuexin figured they didn't need anything too complicated.

When they were done, he said, "This should do it. We'll put the bait inside. Once all the Big-Toothed Rabbits are in, use Fire Release to set the straw alight and surround them. I'll go in and finish them off."

Itachi nodded.

Ye Yuexin continued, "You go put out the bait. I'll prepare some gear." He was planning to whittle a few wooden stakes.

After all, ever since he'd started practicing Little Li's Flying Dagger, he hadn't used Shuriken or Kunai again. He felt the small island's throwing weapons were pretty lousy.

And these were only a few rabbits. It wasn't time to bring out the Flying Dagger yet. It was like how you didn't need the Heavenly Sword to kill a chicken.

He'd thought everything would go smoothly, but when Ye Yuexin returned with his wooden stakes, he was dumbfounded.

Guess what he saw...

Itachi was sticking meatballs into the ground.

Damn, meatballs...

And they were three-colored meatballs, too.

Ye Yuexin was at a loss for words.

Trying not to laugh, he asked, "Have you ever seen a rabbit eat meatballs?"

"I have. My neighbor keeps one outside his house. It really likes the meatballs I bring it." Itachi replied quickly, his tone calm and certain.

He sounded so confident, as if it were only natural for rabbits to eat meatballs.

Ye Yuexin really wanted to ask what gave him the confidence to say that so firmly.

At the same time, he couldn't help wondering if he should've teamed up with Itachi, who was still in his adorably clueless phase.

Young Itachi and the Itachi from the anime were like two completely different people.

It seemed that an Itachi who hadn't experienced war was like a Digimon that hadn't evolved yet.

Seeing that a small portion of Itachi's backpack was already empty, Ye Yuexin suddenly felt they should give it a try.

After all, you never knew what might happen in the anime.

He couldn't judge by the common sense of his previous life. Maybe the little bunnies here really did like this sort of thing.