The Ninja Cat That Went on Strike

The Hyuga Clan's library was enormous. Compared to Leaf Village's public library, its collection was hardly inferior. Over the past thousand years, it had amassed countless secrets, ninjutsu, and even forbidden techniques.

However, to the Hyuga Clan, the Byakugan and Gentle Fist were the foundations of their survival for a thousand years. Every Hyuga clansman regarded them as sacred principles, and they had little regard for other ninjutsu.

Of course, the Hyuga Clan still used some other ninjutsu, but they were mostly Sealing Jutsu and techniques from categories like the Three Body Technique.

Although Hyuga Iwa had said outside that he was looking for records concerning the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan, his true purpose in coming to the clan library was to find books on the clan's Sealing Jutsu, while also hoping to find cultivation methods related to Natural Energy.

Additionally, if possible, he wanted to look for books recording the clan's changes throughout the past thousand years, hoping to find the location of the passage leading to the moon.

In Hyuga Iwa's mind, the clan's earliest settlement on Earth should have been where that passage was located.

Of course, even if he found the passage's location, it did not mean Hyuga Iwa had the strength to go to the moon. This was merely planning for the future.

After all, he had no confidence that the earliest settlement was truly the location of the passage. That was only his guess.

Looking at the enormous library, Hyuga Iwa felt a headache coming on. He was only allowed to remain in the library for two hours, and finding the information he wanted within that time was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

However, Hyuga Iwa only felt frustrated for a moment before pulling himself together. He would find whatever he could. Some matters were not urgent right now; he could return and search again later. Hyuga Iwa did not believe he would never have another chance to enter the library. Whether it was sooner or later made little difference.

Hyuga Iwa started walking toward one of the bookshelves.

But to his surprise, he had only taken two steps when a figure blocked his path.

"Token."

The man did not say anything else. He only spoke those two words and then fell silent, but his sharp gaze made Hyuga Iwa tense.

Although the man had only said two words, Hyuga Iwa understood that he had to be one of the library guards. Without wasting words, Hyuga Iwa took out the clan head's token and handed it to him.

"No problem. You may enter. Also, you are only permitted to search for what you need on this row of bookshelves. Furthermore, none of the books may be taken outside." As he spoke, the man pointed at several bookshelves.

"Ah? Yes, sir. I understand."

Hyuga Iwa froze for a moment, but he quickly understood why the man had said that. Too lazy to argue, he gave a bow and walked toward one of the permitted bookshelves.

Though the man was surprised by Hyuga Iwa's reaction, his duty was only to guard the library. As long as visitors had a token, he had no interest in anything else.

Leaf Village History, Fire Country History, Chronicles of the Warring States... Hyuga Iwa flipped through the books one by one, but only read their titles before placing them back on the shelf. After skimming several more books, he moved to another bookshelf.

He had discovered that the books on this shelf were mostly history books. Although he had intended to search through the clan's history, time was limited, and he could not afford to waste so much of it. He could only set that aside for now.

After changing bookshelves twice, Hyuga Iwa finally found a book on Sealing Jutsu—Binding Seal Array. Though it did not seem like a particularly powerful seal, it still lifted Hyuga Iwa's spirits.

Hyuga Iwa took it out, held it in his hand, and continued searching.

Time passed bit by bit. Hyuga Iwa quickly found several more books on Sealing Jutsu, but none contained the sealing techniques he desired most. But that made sense. Nearly all the Sealing Jutsu he wanted to learn were forbidden techniques of Leaf Village. How could they be so easily found in the clan library? They were probably hidden among the least important books!

Still, Hyuga Iwa was not discouraged in the slightest. He intended to search a little longer. If he still could not find anything, he would start reading the books he had already found. After all, he did not have much time. If he spent all of it looking for books, would this trip not be a waste?

Hyuga Iwa casually pulled out a book. When he saw its title, he froze, then his face lit up. He immediately found a spot to sit cross-legged and eagerly began reading.

It turned out to be a book about the Summoning Jutsu.

Summoning Jutsu... Hyuga Iwa recalled what he knew about it: using blood to form a blood contract with a creature or object, then activating the technique through blood to summon that contracted creature or object to one's side. It was a type of space-time ninjutsu.

Hyuga Iwa read the first page. There was not much written there, only the hand seal sequence for the Summoning Jutsu: Boar, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Ram.

And nearly all Summoning Jutsu used the same hand seal sequence.

However, although the hand seals were identical, the way chakra flowed through the body differed, and so did the creatures that could be summoned. Of course, this only applied to the first summoning.

One of the summoning beasts introduced in the book was a Summoning Jutsu that called Ninja Cats. Through this technique, one could accurately summon a Ninja Cat from the Ninja Cat Clan during the first summoning.

Ninja Cats? Weren't they the exclusive summoning beasts of the Uchiha Clan?

Should I give it a try? Would the Uchiha Clan come looking for trouble?

Tch, who cares about them? I'll learn it first. As long as they don't find out, it'll be fine.

With that thought, Hyuga Iwa closed the book, stretched out his thumb, shut his eyes, and bit down hard despite the pain. The taste of blood spread through his mouth.

"Summoning Jutsu..."

With a smack, the hand Hyuga Iwa was about to press to the ground was kicked away.

"No ninjutsu is allowed in the library!" The man glared fiercely at Hyuga Iwa and said word by word, "Didn't anyone tell you the rules of the library before you entered?!"

"Uh..."

Hyuga Iwa covered his aching hand and said awkwardly, "I forgot."

"Hmph. Don't let it happen again!" The man turned and returned to a corner of the library.

Hyuga Iwa stuck out his tongue sheepishly, then returned the book on Summoning Jutsu to the shelf. He had already read it, and there was no use for it now anyway.

He checked the time. There seemed to be a little time left, though not much, so he did not continue searching the bookshelves. Instead, he began reading the several books on Sealing Jutsu he had found.

Binding Seal Array, Four-Limb Heavy Seal, and Three-Way Seal. Those were the titles of the books on Sealing Jutsu.

Binding Seal Array: Prepare four sealing papers inscribed with Cursed Seals at four positions in advance. Then activate the Cursed Seals to form a barrier that restricts the opponent's movements.

Four-Limb Heavy Seal: Use one's own chakra to inscribe marks on the opponent's limbs, sealing away the opponent's strength.

Three-Way Seal: First create two Shadow Clones. Then the original body and the two clones each erect a green transparent pyramid barrier from three directions, forming solid walls that trap the opponent within the barrier.

Because he was running out of time, Hyuga Iwa took out the paper and pen he had prepared and quickly began copying everything down.

Before long, Hyuga Iwa had copied all three Sealing Jutsu.

"Sir, I'm done."

The man glanced at him without speaking, then pointed toward the library door, signaling for him to leave on his own.

Hyuga Iwa shrugged, put away his copied notes on the Sealing Jutsu, and walked out.

Before leaving, Hyuga Iwa glanced at the other bookshelves in the library and thought, I'll be back.

The two people chatting at the entrance stopped talking when they saw Hyuga Iwa come out.

Hizashi Hyuga glanced at Hyuga Iwa, then turned to the Hyuga Main Family member and said, "Uncle Zhixiong, I'll be leaving first. I'll come see you again next time."

"Mhm, go on."

Hyuga Iwa followed behind Hizashi Hyuga as they walked out.

Then Hizashi Hyuga's voice came from ahead. "Hyuga Iwa, can you tell me what you found?"

"Hizashi-sama, I was only allowed to look for information on the outermost row of bookshelves, so I did not find anything useful. And because time was limited, I only found several Sealing Jutsu and one Summoning Jutsu. I also skimmed a few books on clan history, but I found nothing about the Senju Clan or Uchiha Clan."

Hyuga Iwa knew that the man inside would certainly know what he had read and copied, so he simply told the truth without hiding anything.

"Mhm. I went in once when I was younger, and I did not see anything either. Perhaps the clan truly has no information about the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan. But are you interested in Sealing Jutsu? Why didn't you read about other ninjutsu?"

"Mhm. Compared to ninjutsu, I prefer Sealing Jutsu." Hyuga Iwa nodded.

"Sealing Jutsu demands strict chakra control. If your chakra control is insufficient, you should not force yourself to learn it. That would only waste your time," Hizashi Hyuga kindly reminded him.

"I understand. Thank you, sir!"

"Mhm. If you have any problems with your Gentle Fist training in the future, you may come find me anytime."

Hizashi Hyuga clearly thought highly of Hyuga Iwa, so he took the initiative to offer him guidance in his training. Hizashi Hyuga had always rarely treated anyone in the clan differently, and Hyuga Iwa was the first.

Hyuga Iwa was delighted when he heard that and hurriedly thanked him.

Not long after, Hyuga Iwa returned home.

The moment he arrived, he eagerly began trying the Summoning Jutsu he had just learned.

With a pained expression, he bit open his finger, controlled his chakra according to the method he had seen, made it flow rapidly, and slapped the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A formation appeared beneath Hyuga Iwa's feet. With a bang, his body suddenly vanished from his home. After a long while, he abruptly reappeared inside the house.

Immediately afterward, Hyuga Iwa bit open his finger again and slapped the ground. The complicated formation appeared beneath his feet once more. But this time, Hyuga Iwa did not disappear. Instead, a Ninja Cat suddenly appeared before him.

"Yo, Ju Zai. Please take care of me."

"Hyuga Iwa, please take care of me in the future. Also, that'll be one hundred ryo." The Ninja Cat Hyuga Iwa called Ju Zai held out a paw before him, and its first words left Hyuga Iwa utterly dumbfounded.

"Hey, Ju Zai, why do I have to pay to summon you?" Hyuga Iwa was instantly stunned. He widened his eyes and said unhappily, an ominous feeling rising in his heart.

"Didn't I tell you before we signed the contract? If you want to summon me, you have to pay every time. Since this is your first time summoning me today, I've already given you a discount. Oh, and you'll need to pay me a salary every month from now on. But if it's for battle, don't summon me. I won't come."

"..."

Hyuga Iwa instantly became furious, his blazing eyes wide as he snapped, "Don't try to deny it! When did you ever say anything like that?!"

Ju Zai glanced at Hyuga Iwa and said airily, "Oh?! Then maybe I forgot to mention it. But it's fine. You know now, don't you?"

Hyuga Iwa's confusion was instantly resolved. So Ju Zai was this kind of cat! No wonder no Uchiha had signed a contract with it. At first, he had been happy that it was the only one willing to make a contract with him. Now it seemed that, in the eyes of the other Ninja Cats, he was the fool?

No wonder the other Ninja Cats had all looked at him strangely. At first, Hyuga Iwa had thought there was something strange on him!

"I!! Can I return you?"

"What do you think?! Please take care of me from now on!"

After saying that, Ju Zai did not wait for Hyuga Iwa to reply. With a bang, it dismissed its own summoning and returned to Cat Village.

Hyuga Iwa stared at the spot in front of him, now devoid of even a single cat. He blinked, then let out a mournful howl...