An Uchiha Born with Great Love

Uchiha Minamoto and Izumi walked away shoulder to shoulder.

As for Uchiha Itachi, who remained where he was?

No one cared.

"You looked so incredibly cool just now, Senior Minamoto!"

Uchiha Izumi chattered away like a cheerful lark.

"But is it really okay to turn down the Third Hokage's invitation?"

"Of course it is."

Uchiha Minamoto waved a hand dismissively.

"What law in the village says a ninja can't refuse to join the Anbu?"

If he had merely come from an ordinary ninja family,

Uchiha Minamoto would not have been quite so confident.

But his surname just happened to be "Uchiha"!

Did they have any idea what it meant to be the village's second founding shareholder?

Besides,

as the "Special Assassination and Tactical Squad,"

the Anbu were primarily responsible for protecting the Hokage and guarding against outside enemies. Sometimes they also had to scout enemy movements, assassinate targets, and carry out similar missions.

What could Uchiha Minamoto do by joining them?

Surely he wasn't supposed to spend his first few months guarding Hiruzen Sarutobi's door like Uchiha Itachi?

They dressed it up as being "the Hokage's personal guard."

In reality, it was just being "the Hokage's office doorman"!

Uchiha Minamoto wasn't Uchiha Itachi, who liked being Konoha High Command's dog!

He was a man who would make the world feel great love!

Seeing how confident Senior Minamoto was, Uchiha Izumi relaxed and offered an invitation.

"Senior Minamoto, would you like to come home with me for dinner? Mom said she'd make lots of delicious food tonight!"

Uchiha Minamoto recalled Aunt Hazuki's graceful figure. Though sorely tempted, he still chose to refuse.

"Sorry, I need to leave the village for a bit."

"Leave the village? Now?"

"Yes, I need to visit the Naka River Reservoir."

"Oh! Cat Granny's place?"

"That's right."

Uchiha Minamoto nodded.

Cat Granny was said to be an upright black-market merchant who had broken away from a clan of black-market merchants.

Well, that sounded a little convoluted...

Anyway, she was a black-market merchant!

The Uchiha Clan and the Cat Granny Clan had known each other for many years.

In the eyes of many Uchiha ninja,

Cat Granny's cat house was effectively the Uchiha Clan's exclusive weapons shop.

Uchiha Minamoto was visiting Cat Granny because of the piece of [High-purity Chakra Metal] he had obtained earlier.

He needed a weapon made just for him!

The Naka River Reservoir.

It was far from Konoha.

A cluster of ruined buildings stood silently near the reservoir.

The Abandoned District.

This had once been a bustling town, but unfortunately, it had been destroyed by war.

Now it had become a gathering place for the Cat Granny Clan and the ninja cats.

Uchiha Minamoto had traveled all the way from the new clan compound, taking more than half an hour.

Once he entered the ruins of the Abandoned District and passed through one twisting passage after another, Cat Granny's cat house lay just ahead.

"Nice to meet you, Cat Granny. I'm..."

Uchiha Minamoto greeted her politely and set down the gift he had prepared beforehand-deer antler velvet produced by the Nara Clan.

"There aren't many good children as polite as you left in the Uchiha Clan!"

Cat Granny had a full head of gray hair and was hale and hearty, with a long pipe in her hand.

"What weapon have you come to this old woman to have made?"

"Please take a look, Cat Granny."

Uchiha Minamoto took out the piece of [High-purity Chakra Metal] and handed it over.

"This is the main material."

"Oh?"

Cat Granny looked elderly, but her movements were deft. Her eyes immediately lit up when she took the chakra metal.

"Well now! High purity. A rare find!"

Even in a village as wealthy and well-established as Konoha,

weapons made from chakra metal were uncommon.

And throughout Cat Granny's long career as a black-market merchant,

the quality of this piece of chakra metal definitely ranked among the best!

"Cat Granny."

Uchiha Minamoto waited until she finished examining the chakra metal before speaking.

"I'd like to have a ninja blade made."

Uchiha Minamoto's reason for choosing a ninja blade was simple-

his clan had plenty of powerful techniques passed down through the generations!

Even across the entire shinobi world, Uchiha Style Swordsmanship could be considered first-rate.

"A short blade? A tachi? Or a nodachi?"

Cat Granny gently stroked the chakra metal in her hand.

"Let this old woman add a word of advice. The smaller it is, the higher the purity of the chakra metal, and the better the quality of the weapon."

"A short blade!"

"No problem."

Cat Granny put away the chakra metal.

"It'll take about a week to forge the short blade. Come pick it up in a week."

"Thank you for your hard work, Granny."

"Making tools isn't hard work. It's the tools that have it hard."

Cat Granny spoke pointedly.

"Minamoto, you're a good boy. The atmosphere in the Uchiha Clan has been a little off lately. Whatever you do, don't fall in with those unhappy, brainless fools and let them lead you astray..."

As the Uchiha Clan's exclusive weapons merchant,

Cat Granny knew a thing or two about certain matters.

Since this Uchiha child was sweet-talking and polite, Cat Granny didn't mind giving him a few discreet words of warning.

Uchiha Minamoto understood her meaning and made small talk with Cat Granny for a little longer.

A golden panel suddenly popped up.

[Show care for an elderly, childless, empty-nester cat lady!]

[You have completed a Great Love Action!]

[You have received 222 great love points!]

[You have received [C-rank · Summoning Technique]!]

[Summoning Technique]?

Uchiha Minamoto grinned.

"Granny, I heard that lots of ninja cats live here. Are there any who could sign a contract with me?"

"A Summoning Contract?"

Cat Granny did not refuse. She simply clapped her hands.

"Girls, ladies, come out and meet our guest!"

Chapter 12: Hiruzen Sarutobi: Uchiha Minamoto Is So Much Like Obito!

"A human, meow~"

"He's so handsome, meow~"

"One look tells you he's a handsome Uchiha boy, meow~"

A group of ninja cats surrounded Uchiha Minamoto.

Soft little-girl voices, clear young-girl voices, sultry mature-woman voices...

All sorts of different voices came from the cats' mouths.

The scene looked quite novel, yet there was something inexplicably strange about it.

The cats really could talk!

"At this moment..."

Uchiha Minamoto sat cross-legged, letting the cats nuzzle against him.

"A ninja finally experienced the terror of being ruled by cats."

"Young Uchiha."

A bold calico cat leaped onto Uchiha Minamoto's lap, meeting his gaze with amber eyes as she spoke in a warm, enveloping matronly voice.

"Would you like to sign a contract with me? Right now! Right here!"

Under normal circumstances,

signing a contract between a ninja and a ninja beast was a two-way choice.

The ninja chose the ninja beast.

The ninja beast also chose the ninja.

The Uchiha Clan and the Cat Granny Clan had always been close.

The ninja cats generally would not refuse to sign contracts with Uchiha ninja.

"Of course."