The Land of Fire didn't share direct border with the Land of Wind between them is Land of Rain and Land of Rivers, so open war rarely spilled into Wind territory unless Konoha actively pushed an attack. Given Konoha's current state, that seed unlikely, even with Orochimaru potentially pulling strings sowhere. You couldn't build an army from nothing, after all.
Konoha had weakened considerably from its peak in recent years. Fortunately for them, they weren't alone, other hidden villages were also struggling. Sunagakure, for instance, was having a desperate ti finding anyone suitable to even be the next Kazekage. When it ca to sheer misfortune, Suna seed to have cornered the market.
Takeshi had no idea Jiraiya had just tried to set him up, though it wouldn't have bothered him much if he had. The thought alone was amusing: the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, beaten senseless by a cat, sent fleeing back to his village in disgrace... That kind of stain wouldn't wash out. Anyone who saw Rasa in the future would imdiately think, 'Ah, the Kage who got his ass kicked by a cat and nearly died.'
Now that would be satisfying.
But the opportunity wasn't there yet. Suna, Iwa, Kumo, the other villages-they were all holding back, conserving their strength. Right now, the only ones making major moves were the Kiri ninja, still furious about their stolen swords.
The results of that conflict were already clear. The Seven Ninja Swordsn had started with only one-and-a-half swords missing, now, another two-and-a-half were gone. Fuguki Suikazan's death might not have been directly Konoha's doing, but he had defected, and in the end, both he and his sword Sahada were lost.
"ow~ Well, I'm heading off," Takeshi announced, giving a casual wave of his paw. He was only passing through. If he lingered, the missions piling up back in the village would just get cleared by soone else. Best to head back quickly.
"Hold on," Jiraiya said, his voice tight. "When you see Tsunade, collect a debt for . Last ti, she beat up for no reason, and then we both had to cover her gambling losses. She never has the money, so... just rough her up a bit for instead."
The black cat turned his head, studying Jiraiya. His feline face, usually hard to read, was etched with pure disbelief, practically screaming, 'Are you serious?'
"Do my words an nothing-? Ah, forget it," Jiraiya sighed, sounding defeated. "I bet you wouldn't dare lay a paw on her even if I paid you."
He was afraid. Tsunade owed him a fortune, sure, but she'd been beating him up since they were kids. The psychological scars ran deep. And yet, despite everything, he still...
'Gods, so people never learn,' Jiraiya cursed himself silently, a wave of disappointnt washing over him.
"ow~ Don't be so sure," Takeshi purred, suddenly interested. "If you're willing to write it down and sign it, I'll gladly give Tsunade a piece of my mind."
He wouldn't normally risk it, but if Jiraiya put it in writing, taking the bla... well, that changed things. He could score points from Tsunade and get more from Jiraiya. A win-win! Too bad Jiraiya would never actually agree.
And sure enough...
Jiraiya flushed, embarrassnt quickly turning to anger. "Get lost! Just get out of here!"
'Write it down? Write it down!?' If he actually put that in writing, he'd be checking into the Konoha Hospital by tomorrow morning. That woman, with her gambling addiction and short fuse... she was just too much trouble. A deep sense of lancholy settled over Jiraiya.
Takeshi stared at him contemptuously for a few seconds. Seeing Jiraiya was digging his heels in, even closing his eyes to feign ignorance, the cat decided it wasn't worth pushing further. No more points to be squeezed out of him now.
Still, Jiraiya had been quite generous today. Takeshi's internal point tally had already climbed past twenty thousand points. Getting more would be harder next ti, though.
He sighed inwardly. 'These points are getting harder to farm. Looks like I need to find an opportunity to operate outside Konoha for a while.'
Not right now, of course. Konoha was embroiled in conflict. While the Ninja Cat Fortress he'd established offered a fallback, his foundation was still Konoha. The higher his standing here, the easier things would be later.
But first...
'Danzo has to die.'
That man's darkness ran deep, his capacity for stirring up trouble seemingly endless. Takeshi couldn't rest easy until he was gone. And right now, Agakure presented an opportunity.
Takeshi quietly pilfered a piece of paper and an ink stick from the camp supplies. Slipping away, he found a spot by the river and Transford into human form to write. It felt awkward at first.
The Transformation Jutsu only changed his appearance, his hands still felt like paws, clumsy and difficult to control. Annoyed, he channeled natural energy, activating Sage Mode just to hold the brush steady.
He was probably the first person in history to use Sage Mode for calligraphy.
He wrote quickly, the ssage simple: 'Be careful of Hanzo the Salamander and Danzo.'
Hanzo and Danzo were cut from similar cloth. Both might have started with noble intentions, but power had warped them, trapping them in a cycle of chasing strength while forgetting why they'd started.
Finished, he used the Flying Thunder God to deliver the note across the distance.
---
Border of Agakure.
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were keeping their promise. They monitored the movents of Iwa and Suna forces, relaying intelligence back to Jiraiya-sensei. It felt good, helping their teacher, it gave them a sense of purpose.
Konan was gathering ingredients, planning to cook, when a slip of paper materialized out of thin air beside her. Her sensitivity to paper was innate, she noticed the intrusion instantly. Picking it up, she scanned the brief ssage.
'Be careful of Hanzo the Salamander and Danzo?'
'Hanzo-sama?'
Konan frowned. The letter's appearance was inexplicable, the handwriting crooked and strange. Unsure what to make of it, she abandoned her cooking and hurried to find Yahiko and Nagato.
Soon, the three of them stood in their small hideout, staring blankly at the note lying between them. None of them understood. Be careful of those two? Hanzo was the revered leader of Agakure, both spiritually and practically. Danzo was a Konoha elder. Why would soone send them a warning about these n?
And the delivery thod... appearing from nowhere...
"Nagato, what do you think?" Yahiko asked.
"Hmm," Nagato murmured, deep in thought. "A spatial ninjutsu. Not Summoning... so it must be the Flying Thunder God. Perhaps it's that Minato Senpai, fellow student of Jiraiya-sensei?" He paused. "But this handwriting doesn't seem like his."
'It's incredibly ssy,' Yahiko thought. He sighed softly after a mont. "The way it was sent ans we can't verify this through Sensei. It's a sha we don't have that ninja's private contact info, or we could ask him directly."
"Yeah," Nagato agreed quietly.
Yahiko was their leader, the other two usually deferred to his judgnt.
"Hanzo-sama hasn't made any moves against us," Yahiko mused. "If anything, he's discreetly supported our efforts, letting supplies through. But Danzo... We'll just have to watch carefully and take things one step at a ti."
---
Northern Land of Fire
Back near the Konoha camp, Takeshi mulled over his next move. Sending one note wouldn't change much on its own. There had to be follow-up, and only operatives from the Ninja Cat Fortress could handle sothing like this discreetly.
'I'll send a cat over first,' he decided. A ninja cat on site could provide direct intel. Communication could be handled by having Kanna sign a summoning contract later, then they could use reverse summoning to talk.
Kanna herself couldn't show up openly. Who knew if Madara-or more likely, Zetsu-had eyes on Nagato's group? Takeshi's own past interactions gave him a plausible reason to be involved, but Kanna, an Uzumaki, appearing near Nagato would imdiately raise red flags for Black Zetsu.
'Yes, that should work.' Sending Kanna to the Fortress had been a brilliant move, he reflected, even if the girl had chosen to go there herself...
Activating Flying Thunder God again, the black cat reappeared in the small mountain clearing where the genin team waited.
Everything was calm. As soon as he materialized, Kurenai scooped him up into a hug, her face beaming. "You're back!"
Being younger, the girls weren't as caught up in the competitive drive as the boys, Takeshi's promotion to Jonin hadn't sparked envy, only genuine happiness for him. Now that he was a Jonin, maybe her strict father would finally ease up. Surely, he couldn't object to her being friends with a cat who made Jonin in less than a year, could he?
Then again, if she actually said that to Shinkū Yuhi, her father would probably worry more. Takeshi's... unique personality had beco rather well-known in Konoha over the past year.
Shinku already worried about his precious daughter hanging around such a troublemaker. What if Kurenai picked up the cat's sharp tongue instead of his talent?
The thought of it would likely make Shinku want to start adding cat stew to his daily nu.
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