Some Wretch Is Always Plotting Against Me

Time flew by during training.

Chiba had his own schedule.

In the days leading up to the Chunin Ninja Exams, Kakashi Hatake gave Team 7 some time off.

Sasuke Uchiha holed up in his clan compound for intensive training.

Chiba did much the same.

Only Naruto Uzumaki had nowhere to go, and he often came over to hang around Chiba's place.

Left with little choice, Chiba dragged him into the training as well.

His training partner was, of course, Nekomata.

"Blond brat, I... I won this time!"

Nekomata panted heavily, sprawled on his back with all four paws in the air, without a shred of dignity.

For a feline, this was rather unusual behavior.

A closer look revealed that his paw pads were covered in sweat.

For Nekomata, whose sweat glands were poorly developed, this was the best way to cool down.

If he could, he would have even stuck out his tongue to shed some heat.

Unfortunately, his tongue had no sweat glands.

"Whew, this genius just let his guard down for a moment."

Naruto Uzumaki looked just as undignified.

Or rather, he simply did not care about such things.

The training between the boy and the cat focused on their combat skills.

Strangely enough, Chiba's combat awareness was considerably better than Naruto's and Sasuke's.

That initial basic reward had also included fundamental combat experience.

Apart from the three main categories of ninja arts, Chiba had somewhat more combat experience than the other two.

His talent also seemed quite good.

After their trip to the Land of Waves, his combat instincts had become ingrained in his bones.

"Let's call it a day for training."

Chiba took off his sweat-soaked clothes.

Lately, aside from food expenses...

His biggest expense had been clothing.

With two changes and two washes a day, anything made from slightly poorer fabric fell apart after just a few washes.

As a result, Chiba could only buy piles of clothes and leave them in his room.

To save time, he even threw away soaked clothes outright.

Naruto Uzumaki strongly condemned this wasteful behavior.

Until Chiba offered to cover the cost of replacing his clothes, too.

Then Naruto Uzumaki declared that such a minor expense hardly counted as waste.

Sure enough, the law of eating your words applied in every world.

"The exams are coming up soon."

"We need to get ourselves back into peak condition."

Chiba understood the importance of balancing work and rest.

He took the Chunin Ninja Exams very seriously.

After all, they were tied to his next sign-in mission.

"Yeah!"

Naruto Uzumaki sprang up from the ground.

"Big Brother Chiba, is it time to eat?"

Sure enough, talking to Naruto Uzumaki about staying in peak condition was like talking to a brick wall.

"Yes."

Chiba's voice sounded rather weary.

There was nothing anyone could do with a little brother like this on their hands.

Who told him to be so softhearted?

Still, his recent expenses had been downright frightening.

Chiba did some mental calculations.

His savings would only last him through the Chunin Ninja Exams.

"Looks like I need to make some money on the side!"

Nekomata, who was lying on the ground, suddenly shuddered and leaped to his feet.

"Boss, I've got something to take care of, so I'll be going!"

Nekomata should have vanished in a puff of smoke, but instead, his feline face twisted the next moment.

"Nekomata, I seem to remember you have some money stashed away, don't you?"

Chiba remembered that he had a filthy rich moneybags right beside him.

Though this particular moneybags looked rather feline.

Nekomata nodded pitifully and said in a small voice:

"The ninja cats gave it to me as tribute."

"Boss, could you let go of my tail first?"

"I may have two, but with your strength, it still really hurts."

Chiba shook his head and said:

"You know your boss has been bending over backward for your training lately."

"So, you see..."

Before he could finish...

Nekomata immediately put on a look of righteous resolve.

"Don't worry, Boss."

"My money is your money, and your money is still your money!"

"I've always kept your teachings firmly in mind!"

Realizing that he could not protect his secret stash, Nekomata promptly offered it all up as a show of loyalty.

Hearing Nekomata's words, Chiba nodded in satisfaction.

Although he did not know how much money Nekomata had stashed away, it would definitely cover their expenses for a while.

After the Chunin Ninja Exams, money probably would not be much of a problem anymore.

"Let's get going, then."

Chiba went to rinse off, then changed into fresh clothes and got ready to head out.

The little courtyard home was fully equipped.

Jiraiya must have put some thought into it.

He had always kept the Great Toad Sage's instructions in mind.

Nekomata returned to his Ninja Cat Castle.

Although he had made remarkable progress lately, he still had not learned the Reverse Summoning Technique.

That gave Chiba something of a headache.

On the way to Ichiraku Ramen, Chiba considered whether he should put a little more pressure on Nekomata.

Sitting on his large bed, Nekomata suddenly shuddered.

Achoo!

He rubbed his nose and grumbled:

"Some wretch is always plotting against me!"

"I'd better not find out who's scheming against yours truly."

"Or I'll make sure they pay for it!"