Naruto: Paws and Whiskers

Takeshi chuckled to himself, recalling the reactions that Nekomata's intimidating size and strength usually drew from people. That imposing white cat could stop any ninja in their tracks just by appearing, yet his personality was far from serious. 

But knowing Nekomata, he'd probably resist at first. With that in mind, Takeshi had Kanna slip him a packet of his favorite special cat food, a subtle bribe to smooth things over.

"Alright, time to head back," Takeshi announced to himself, clapping his paws together in anticipation. He debated whether he should sprint back or use the Flying Thunder God technique. The choice took only a moment.

'Flying Thunder God it is!' he decided. As Konoha's newest Special Jonin, a rising star, Takeshi knew better than to waste time on trivialities like running like Genins, especially when he could teleport. With a flicker, he reappeared instantly near Rin, avoiding the long journey back.

Meanwhile, in a dense forest within the Land of Grass, Gekko Naoki was racing towards Jiraiya's camp, sweat pouring down his face. 

Although he looked exhausted, his stamina was actually impressive; lesser shinobi might have collapsed by now. But even his persistence was starting to wear thin as frustration crept in. If it was Gekko Hayate from the anime, he might've coughed out his lungs by now.

"Why... why can't I catch up with that cat?" Naoki muttered between labored breaths. He had crossed the entire border of the Land of Grass, but Takeshi was nowhere in sight. 

Exhausted, he finally staggered into the camp just as dawn was breaking, still wondering if he had missed his companion somehow along the way. He began to worry, 'Did Takeshi have simply wandered off to nap somewhere?'

'At least I have an option,' he consoled himself. 'If worse comes to worst, Rin can just summon him back.'

Just then, a patrolling ninja caught sight of him and approached. After a quick exchange of their identification codes, the patrol ninja saluted him. "Naoki-san, you're finally back. Jiraiya-sama may still be resting at this hour. He would be available..."

"Then I'll go and rest till then."

'Finally? Why did he say finally?' Gekko Naoki thought about it carefully. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. Then he couldn't help asking, "Has Takeshi returned?"

"Yes, Naoki-san, Takeshi returned about an hour ago. He's resting in a tent with Rin."

The patrolling ninja responded promptly. He knew this because Takeshi deliberately went rushed out after teleporting to Rin to meet up with him "accidentally", who was patrolling this area, and who just met Naoki... Obviously, this was not a coincidence.

Hearing this, Naoki froze, processing what the patrolling ninja had just said. Takeshi had returned an hour ago? It had barely been two hours since their fight near Kusagakure! There was no way Takeshi could have run back this fast.

Naoki would've passed by this area while returning from the Land of Grass, unless he went through to Land of Fire and then entered the camp from there.

Naoki's mind raced. 'He must have used some shortcut. Did he have Rin summon him back here while I slogged all this way on foot?'

Takeshi's ability to exploit such methods was impressive, and infuriating. He could easily pass a message to Rin and get summoned in an instant, something Naoki could only dream of. He clenched his fists, shaking his head at the unfairness of it all.

'That damn cat!' Naoki couldn't help but feel defeated, but what could he do? Takeshi's summon contract was as much a part of his skillset as any jutsu. If Naoki had a similar ability, he'd have done the same.

Who would voluntarily run when they could teleport?

"Naoki-san? Are you alright?" the patrol ninja asked, noticing his disgruntled expression.

"Yes, I'm fine," Naoki replied, sighing. There was no point in getting worked up. Defeated by a cat. The thought lingered, stinging his pride, but he buried it as best he could. He was a seasoned Special Jonin, after all. 

Yet, he couldn't help but marvel at how Takeshi, in just a few years, would likely rise to Jonin. Could he, Naoki, even reach that level?

As he trudged to his tent, he thought bitterly, 'I've been a Special Jonin for over a decade. A decade! But here I am, overshadowed by a cat. Maybe it's time I stop expecting promotions.'

But as he tried to dismiss the thought, he felt his mind refuse to let it go. He lay down, exhausted, his mind spinning with doubts and resentments.

Meanwhile, Takeshi, already awake, noticed with satisfaction that his points had increased to seven thousand overnight. He attributed his success partly to his plan of "accidentally" meeting the patrol ninja, knowing that Naoki's pride would take a hit upon hearing of his swift return. 

'There are still many good people in the world!'

In addition, his strategy of taking a rushing out and meeting the patrol guy after he teleported in the camp seemed to have worked. The guy gave quite abit of emotional damage to Naoki.

But now, he can't sleep anymore. As a qualified Special Jonin, he has to report to Jiraiya and other Jonins about the mission.

In particular some actions carried out in the mission must be emphasized, like 'someone' took three week Kusa ninjas while throwing this cat at many Iwa ninjas which included Jonins and Chunins.

As he approached the camp center, he observed the changes. Rows of tents had sprung up, and medical equipment was being moved to the frontline. The setup had clearly evolved in preparation for a prolonged engagement. 

The large tent in the center served as Jiraiya's command post, where all intelligence reports funneled in.

At present, the Iwa Ninjas have not started to act aggressively. The only conflict of importance between Iwa and Konoha ninjas was the battle of Takeshi and Naoki with them today.

Other than that, they are all preliminary work such as scouting and intelligence gathering, and Jiraiya is responsible for intelligence collection and troop dispatch.

Takeshi walked with purpose, though he felt slightly awkward as numerous shinobi nodded at him with respect.

"Hello, Takeshi-san."

"Takeshi-san!"

Takeshi simply nodded back, although inwardly, he was puzzled. 'What's with all this formality? And not a single one of them is giving me any points! Are they all this thick-skinned? Aren't they embarrassed?'

 Not dwelling on it, he strode towards Jiraiya's tent, noticing that Naoki's scent was faint, suggesting the man hadn't yet made his report. Takeshi figured Jiraiya might still be asleep, but he knew from experience that Jiraiya was surprisingly diligent.

Sure enough, upon entering the tent, he found Jiraiya surrounded by stacks of intelligence reports, scrolls towering on both sides of his desk. Three senior ninjas were seated before him, taking turns to relay their own briefings.

With one pile containing reports that have been read and other side containing reports that haven't been read yet.

Takeshi couldn't help but be impressed. The scrolls that Jiraiya had reviewed were already numerous, yet there were still thrice as many unread ones, stacked high, that's not even mentioning the verbal reports. 

'And here I thought being an army leader was hard enough. If I were Hokage, I'd be bald from the stress! No, I am a cat now, I have fur.' Suddenly, Takeshi shivered, imagining a bald version of himself. 'A furless cat? No thanks.'

Snapping out of his reverie, Takeshi refocused and took his place. The shinobi around Jiraiya fell silent, observing him. Jiraiya glanced up and greeted him with an expectant look.

"Takeshi, I need your report on yesterday's mission. Did you manage to take them down?"

"Meow~ Of course, I eliminated three Iwa Jonin and three Iwa Chunin personally. Naoki handled three Kusa ninjas. Given the urgency of the situation, I didn't have time to properly confirm their identities on the battlefield."

The gathered shinobi exchanged glances, taken aback by the news. 'Three Jonin and three Chunin—all handled by this cat?'

Some of them quietly thanked their luck that they hadn't been on that mission with him; it would have been humiliating to be outperformed by a summon beast. 

They each shot a silent nod of sympathy towards Naoki, realizing the toll it must have taken on his pride.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "And how did Kusagakure respond?"

Takeshi shrugged, suppressing a smirk. "Their leader arrived right away, and let's just say he didn't look thrilled." He added a few entertaining details, like Naoki's attempt to hide using the Transparency Jutsu, only to remain pinned down once the Kusa leader, Kono Osamu, arrived.

Among the onlookers was an older Jonin with a sword on his back, a member of the Gekko clan, like Naoki. He pinched the bridge of his nose in mild embarrassment; it sounded like his nephew had faced quite a debacle.

If these were all true, Naoki was really outdone by the Takeshi. Poor guy...

Just then, Jiraiya sensed Naoki's presence nearby and called him in. Naoki entered hastily, his clothes disheveled from a rushed attempt to look presentable. He looked at Takeshi, a trace of embarrassment flashing in his eyes. It was clear he hadn't expected Takeshi to beat him to the report.

"Naoki, let's hear your account," Jiraiya said with an even tone.

The Jonin of the Gekko family is Gekko Naoki's uncle, and he looked uncomfortable, as he heard his nephew's report.

Naoki straightened, recounting his actions with a mixture of pride and slight exaggeration. "Jiraiya-sama, Takeshi dealt with the Iwa ninjas, leaving me to handle the Kusa ninjas. I took down two Kusa Jonin and an elite Chunin." He conveniently left out that the Jonin were considerably older and likely hadn't fought in years, while everyone here knew that ranks in smaller villages are generally weaker compared to big 5 villages. 

A Jonin of Kusagakure is naturally a little different from the big village. They are weaker, and what he didn't dare to say is that the two Jonin's were quite old and might not have been active for more than couple years.

It all depends on how the facts are stated. 

Naoki then offered detailed observations on Kono Osamu's demeanor and his preliminary judgments of the Kusa leader's stance.

"Understood. Good work, both of you," Jiraiya responded. Turning to Naoki's uncle, he said, "Gekko-san, please go to make contact with Orochimaru and give him this scroll, as well as request Shikaku to join us. Then tell Shikaku about the situation here and order him to go to Kusagakure to have a chat with our old friend Osamu."

Jiraiya said as he took out a blank scroll and began writing down all the information in detail. The old jonin of the Gekko clan nodded, took the scroll and left.

"By the way, Takeshi, you're back just in time. Minato may need a little help with something. He didn't tell me the details. You can go and report to him immediately." Jiraiya saw the Takeshi standing aside.

After thinking for couple minutes, he finally thought of something to get this cat away, chaos will always follow this cat around. He needs to focus for now.

-------------------

Dear Readers and Fans,

For those eager to dive into next chapters earlier before others, I invite you to join us on Patreon. By becoming our Patron, you not only gain access to exclusive advanced chapters but also help us continue this endeavour and expand it further. 

https://www.pat reon.com/8Ashes8

(no space)

You can read upto 7 Chapters in advance.