Chapter 91: Urgent Telegram from Kumogakure! The cat-eared girl is a Non-Renewable Resource
Konoha Village, Hokage Office.
An intelligence scroll from Kumogakure, marked with a red "urgent" stamp, lay spread out on the desk.
"Things are troublesome."
Tsunade rested her chin on her interlocked fingers, her face growing more solemn. "Kumogakure has sent urgent intelligence; the Akatsuki Organization's actions are continuing. Their Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Nii Yugito, was ambushed by two members of the Akatsuki Organization an hour ago and is now missing."
Shizune stood to the side, holding Tonton, her face pale. "Even Lady Nii Yugito... The monsters the Akatsuki Organization sent this time are very strong."
Kakashi, standing in front of the desk, lowered his eyes, about to analyze the situation.
Bang!
A loud noise interrupted everyone's thoughts.
Everyone turned their heads in surprise, only to find that Naruto, who had been standing to the side acting as if it were none of his business, had slammed a hand heavily onto the solid wood desk.
He widened his blue eyes, his face full of heartbroken distress.
"Granny Tsunade! Does this even need to be considered? That's the Two-Tails! It's a cat demon!"
Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs, making the entire office hum. "Do you know what this means?"
"It means... Kumogakure's strategic weapon has been damaged?" Tsunade asked, subconsciously following his line of questioning.
"No! It means that in this cold Ninja World, we are about to lose a rare resource!"
Naruto clenched his fists, his face full of righteousness.
But deep within his mind, the heavenly curtain had already unfolded, automatically pulling up a high-definition portrait of Nii Yugito.
[Are you kidding me! That's none of my business!]
[The point is that she's a mature older sister type! And she's that kind of cold and arrogant cat-eared girl with a giant cat sealed inside her!]
[What is the Two-Tails Matatabi? That's a cat demon! Do you guys know the gold standard of a cat-eared girl?]
Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura, who had just entered to deliver documents, all stiffened at the same time.
Naruto remained outwardly concerned for the nation and its people, but his inner roaring echoed in their minds.
[This is a non-renewable resource! If the perverts from the Akatsuki Organization take her away... and extract the Tailed Beast, she'll die! I'll never be able to see that wild big sister who can transform into a demi-human form again!]
[Must save her! And I have to get there before those perverts do! I want to bring her back to Konoha. For these cat ears, I'm willing to support her for the rest of my life! If that doesn't work, I'd even be happy to let her wear a maid outfit and catch mice!]
Veins bulged on Tsunade's forehead, and with a "snap," she crushed the pen in her hand.
How did a serious diplomatic crisis fast-forward to "wearing a maid outfit and catching mice" in this brat's head?
Sakura covered her forehead, feeling her blood pressure rising, but for some reason, hearing Naruto's strange obsession, she was actually getting a bit used to it.
"Ahem..." Tsunade took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to throw Naruto out. Although his reasoning was bastardly, her intuition told her that if she let Naruto go, he might actually perform a miracle.
"Since you're so motivated... Team 7 and Team 10, led by Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi, depart immediately to support Kumogakure!"
"Yes! I knew you understood me best, Granny!"
Naruto excitedly gave a thumbs up, turned around, and rushed out in a hurry.
Meanwhile.
At the border of the Land of Lightning, in a dark sewer.
Drip.
Blood dripped from her torn clothes into the stagnant water.
Nii Yugito panted heavily, her pale blonde hair already disheveled. Although the flames of defiance still burned in her proud eyes, there was also a hint of helplessness.
Behind her, two figures wearing black robes with red clouds were closing in.
One carried a large three-bladed scythe, muttering about "sacrifices for Lord Jashin"; the other was stitched all over with black threads, with cold, sinister eyes.
"Damn it... Not a match at all..."
Yugito clutched the wound on her abdomen, which had been slashed by the flying scythe. She felt the Chakra in her body draining rapidly, and even the Two-Tails Matatabi let out an uneasy growl.
"Can't run anymore? Little kitty." Hidan laughed and licked the blood off his scythe. Instantly, his skin turned the color of a black-and-white skeleton. "Don't rush, the ritual is about to begin, and you will feel pain like you've never felt before... That is the love of Lord Jashin!"
A dead end.
Is it really a dead end?
Yugito gritted her teeth. Is she really going to die here today like prey?
Just then, a young man's voice, without any warning, rang out directly in the deepest part of her mind.
[Hang in there! My cat-eared girl!]
Yugito stumbled, almost falling. Who? Genjutsu?
The voice, however, paid no heed and continued its bombardment with righteous indignation:
[If you die here, the aesthetic of the Ninja Worldwill suffer a generational gap! I'm still waiting to see you reveal your cat ears and cat tail under the moonlight, the way they twitch... It's too cute!]
[What do those perverts from the Akatsuki Organization know? They only know how to extract Chakra! They don't understand how to appreciate true wild beauty at all! Don't be afraid! I've already set off! As long as you can transform into that demi-human form... even if I have to poke a hole in the sky, I'll snatch you back!]
"What... the hell..."
Yugito's already pale face instantly turned red to the roots of her ears.
cat-eared girl? Twitching? Demi-human?
Where on earth did this perverted rescuer come from! He's even scarier than the two murderers behind her!
Shame, extreme shame.
Even at the brink of life and death, Yugito was driven to the point of dying from humiliation by these words. As a proud Jonin of Kumogakure, when had she ever been objectified from such a perspective, as if she were a pet?
However, along with the surge of shame came a scorching, strange power.
[Ding!] A crisp notification sound that only Yugito could hear rang out in the sewer like a gospel.
[Detected specific target Nii Yugito, received a strong survival expectation from the core subject regarding "XP Protection: Non-Renewable Cat-Ear Resource."]
[System Judgment: Since you carry someone's ultimate fantasy of a "demi-human cute girl," until that pervert sees that scene with his own eyes, this "cat"... has nine lives!]
[Reward Issued: Passive - Desperate Resistance (Nine Lives of the Cat).]
[Effect Description: Shame is converted into a Life Lock. Before the rescuer arrives, when you are in a near-death state, your HP is forcibly locked once. As long as you still have the "desire to retort" regarding his terrible proposal in your heart, you will absolutely not die.]
Boom—!
The Two-Tails Matatabi, which had been trembling with fear inside Yugito, suddenly became excited, and blue flames instantly erupted from Yugito's entire body.
Yugito's blurred vision became clear again. She could feel that this new power didn't belong to her, but originated from that bastard in her mind who was shouting about wanting to see cat ears.
"Who wants you to support me! You pervert!"
Yugito let out a scream, her voice filled with anger and embarrassment. Accompanying the scream, a ghostly blue Chakra cloak instantly covered her entire body, but under the influence of this strange will, the Chakra did not turn into a monster completely, but instead condensed into two flame cat ears and two swaying tails behind her.
Although she didn't want to admit it, this was indeed the... demi-human form that the pervert was talking about.
"Hmm?" Hidan, who was about to make a move, froze as he looked at the female Ninja in front of him who had suddenly burst with vitality and had a somewhat strange appearance.
"What's with this guy? A final burst of energy?"
Yugito unsheathed cat-claw-like blades from her hands, the blue flames reflecting on her shame-filled, angry face.
"No matter who you are..." she thought fiercely to herself, "Once I survive... I will definitely claw that foul mouth of yours to shreds first!"