It had been two months since he graduated from the Ninja Academy. The Uchiha Clan Massacre had also reached its final chapter that spring—the waters of the Naka River flowed as usual, but the Gunbai clan crest was never seen along its banks again.
Team 12: Mori Takuma, Yamada Kenta, Sato Jiro.
Their Jonin leader was Namiashi Raidō—a Special Jonin skilled in assassination techniques. In the original story, he was one of the Hokage's personal bodyguards. He was no weakling, but his presence was about as noticeable as a background extra. They hadn't even been assigned a Jonin with a name, so this really was a thoroughly forgettable arrangement.
Namiashi Raidō was a taciturn man. At their first team meeting, he said only three things: "My name is Namiashi Raidō. Meet at the training ground at six tomorrow morning. Don't be late." Then he used the Body Flicker Technique and left. Takuma stared at the empty meeting spot, the corner of his mouth twitching. Couldn't you at least let us introduce ourselves?
Two months later, Takuma sat beside the counter at the Tenten Ninja Tool Shop and poured out everything that had happened to him during that time.
"So—" Tenten sat behind the counter, holding a Shuriken she had only half-finished sharpening. Its edge glinted in the afternoon light. "You spent two months as a ninja finding cats, pulling weeds, picking up trash, and carrying rice?"
"There was also clearing river channels and helping the herb shop take inventory." Takuma held up a finger to correct her. "That time, Yamada mixed up licorice root and goldthread. The shop owner nearly kicked us out. Later, he specifically asked for me to go apologize. I worked a whole day for free and ended up getting a liang of goji berries as payment."
Tenten set down the Shuriken and laughed so hard she sprawled across the counter. Her buns bobbed as she laughed, and the red ribbons tying up her hair swayed in the sunlight.
Tenten took a Sealing Scroll from under the counter and tossed it to him. "Here. Three lightweight Shuriken and five Smoke Bombs made with my own formula. The smoke lasts eight seconds longer than the standard military kind."
Takuma caught the scroll and weighed it in his hand. It was very light. "For free?" he asked.
"For free."
Takuma smiled and tucked the scroll into his ninja pouch. The doorbell rang as a customer walked in. Takuma stood to take his leave, but Tenten suddenly called after him.
"By the way, what's tomorrow's mission?"
"Finding a cat." Takuma's tone was like he was pronouncing a death sentence. "The Land of Fire daimyo's wife's pet. Its name is Tama no Jo."
"Another cat-finding mission." Tenten sounded full of sympathy.
"This time's different. This is the daimyo's cat. It outranks me." Takuma pushed open the door and glanced back with a tired smile.
Early the next morning, Takuma arrived at the agreed meeting place.
Namiashi Raidō was already there, holding a mission map and a map divided into three sections. Yamada and Sato arrived soon after, and the three of them took their assigned areas in the faint morning light. Takuma got the north district, which centered around Kage Rock and covered the bushes at the foot of the cliff, the riverside path, and a small patch of sparse woodland.
"Once you've caught the target, fire a signal flare. The others will return to the meeting point immediately." Namiashi Raidō paused after explaining the mission, then added, "The daimyo's wife is very attached to this cat. Be sure to handle it carefully."
After searching for nearly an hour, he had found nothing.
Takuma stood at the foot of Kage Rock and took a swig of water. The water in his canteen had warmed in the sun and tasted faintly of plastic. He wiped his mouth, and something moving above Kage Rock caught his eye.
A golden figure was crouched atop Kage Rock, holding a paintbrush longer than he was. Several paint buckets sat by his feet.
Naruto dipped the brush into the red paint bucket, then began painting the Third Hokage's nose. Apparently dissatisfied with his work, he added three whiskers on each side. He stepped back to admire it, nodded in satisfaction, then turned toward the First Hokage's statue and started giving him sunglasses.
[Witnessed event detected: "Graffiti on Kage Rock"] [Reward: 1 draw]
Then he heard a furious roar.
"Naruto—!"
Iruka appeared on top of Kage Rock, his face bright red and the veins on his forehead clearly visible. Naruto took off running with the paintbrush in hand, and Iruka chased after him.
Takuma crouched beneath a crooked tree and watched the entire chase in a very comfortable position. Three laps, two attempted escapes, and finally Iruka grabbed him by the collar. Even as Iruka dragged him away, Naruto kept struggling and shouting things like, "I'm definitely going to become Hokage!" and "Grandpa Third Hokage's nose should've been painted red anyway!" His golden head stayed stubbornly raised in Iruka's grip.
Takuma held his breath and started the draw. The system's wheel spun in his mind, and colored lights flickered across it. He stared fixedly at the golden one—
[Draw complete] [Obtained: Captain America's physical enhancement potion formula (formula only, no finished potion)]
A list unfolded in his mind: century-old ginseng, Tianshan snow lotus, fresh bear bile, deer antler velvet harvested in a specific season, cordyceps, and dozens of other medicinal ingredients whose names he could barely pronounce. A line of fine print appeared at the end: All ingredients must be collected when their medicinal properties are at their peak and decocted in the specified order. Increases muscle density, bone strength, metabolic rate, and immune function across the board.
Takuma folded the list and tucked it into the deepest part of his ninja pouch.
Converted into Konoha mission pay, the ingredients for this potion would probably take three thousand D-rank missions to afford—assuming he didn't eat, drink, or pay rent. This formula cost more than Konoha's GDP.
A cat's meow interrupted his calculations.
Takuma turned around. A pure white cat was sprawled across the branch of the crooked tree, a red ribbon tied around its neck. Its amber eyes were half-lidded as it watched him, its tail lazily sweeping back and forth along the trunk.
Tama no Jo.
Takuma and the cat stared at each other for three seconds. After three seconds, the cat yawned.
"You've finally decided to show yourself." Takuma stood and spoke in a tone he might use to coax a child. "Your Highness, your humble servant has been looking for you all morning. Would you be so kind as to come down?"
The cat licked its paw.
Takuma pulled a thin cord from his ninja pouch and tied it to the end of a Kunai. He took a deep breath, then flicked his wrist—the Kunai flew out with the cord, looping twice around the branch and blocking the cat's only escape route. Tama no Jo looked down at the cord, then up at Takuma. At last, it deigned to stand and saunter down the trunk, landing neatly on Takuma's shoulder.
"Thank you for your gracious favor." Takuma rolled his eyes, pulled a signal flare from his belt, and yanked the firing pin.
The red flare burst above Kage Rock, bright even in the midday sun. Takuma carried the cat back. As he passed the front of Kage Rock, he glanced up. A Chunin from the cleaning squad was hanging on the cliff face, scrubbing off the paint. The Third Hokage's nose had returned to its original stone color, though a small orange streak remained on his chin, like a tear mark.
Takuma lowered his gaze to the cat in his arms. Tama no Jo was curled comfortably in the crook of his arm, purring away. It didn't seem like a cat that had been missing for three days at all—more like one that had gone out to inspect its territory, gotten tired, and happened to find a suitable mount.
"You're certainly comfortable," Takuma said.
The cat ignored him.
By the time he returned to the meeting point, Yamada and Sato were already waiting. They both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the white cat in Takuma's arms. Namiashi Raidō took the cat and checked it over. Once he had confirmed it wasn't hurt, he nodded and said one extra sentence for once: "Mission complete. The afternoon is free."
Takuma didn't go straight home. He detoured to the Tenten Ninja Tool Shop, and the doorbell rang when he walked in. Tenten looked up and was just about to ask if he'd found the cat when Takuma beat her to it and recounted everything that had happened, from beginning to end.
"So Kage Rock got vandalized, you watched the whole thing, and the cat sat right above your head for half an hour without you noticing," Tenten summarized.
"I was witnessing history."
"You were slacking off."
"It's called strategic observation."
Tenten grabbed the rag from the counter and threw it at him. Takuma caught it, then walked out of the shop with a laugh.
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