Miwa Masayo said in surprise, "So the key to igniting the river water was my Wind Release senjutsu?"
Uchiha Yoru nodded and confirmed it with a smile. "Rika-chan, you used such a powerful and mysterious senjutsu, but you didn't even know it yourself?"
The tabby cat scratched her head and said embarrassedly, "I just waved like this and it caught fire. I really don't know the principle behind it, meow."
Uchiha Yoru shook his head helplessly. "Forget it. Not knowing is fine. As long as you can use the power and master it skillfully, that's enough."
Miwa Masayo thought about it and felt it made sense. She even said confidently, "That's right, meow. Most ninja don't know what chakra really is, but that doesn't stop them from using ninjutsu very well."
"How strange. What exactly has been happening recently?"
Uchiha Yoru sighed. "Uchiha Shisui suddenly began returning to his ancestral bloodline, and you also unknowingly returned to yours. Has something strange happened in the ninja world that I don't know about?"
"You're overthinking it, Yoru. It's obviously all because of you."
Miwa Masayo stood up and tried to jump onto her most familiar spot, his shoulder. But the moment her two tails swung at the same time, they tangled tightly together.
The tangled tails caused the tabby cat to completely lose her balance. After flailing all four limbs wildly, she slammed headfirst into Uchiha Yoru's thigh and cried out in pain.
Uchiha Yoru laughed as he picked her up, rubbed her head, and placed her on his shoulder. "Before you adapt to this extra tail, don't try any difficult jumps. How many times have you bumped into things already?"
"Listen to me. Start with walking, then running, then climbing, and finally jumping."
"No, meow. That's too slow, meow!"
"Haha, Rika-chan, if you're too impatient, haste often makes waste."
"Ugh, then I'll practice them together, meow. At worst… at worst I'll just fall a few more times, meow."
"Wow, then you're going to suffer quite a bit."
"This cat isn't afraid, meow."
Miwa Masayo stepped forward.
She wanted to run, not start by slowly walking.
But as her tails tangled again, her two hind legs went completely out of control and suddenly kicked with full force, launching the tabby cat like a cannonball.
Bang—
"Meow— That hurts, meow!"
Her entire face slammed into the corner of the wall, hurting so badly that tears came out. She covered her nose with both front paws.
But under the interference of her knotted tails, the tabby cat's hind legs kicked rapidly on their own, making her spin wildly on the ground like a top.
Uchiha Yoru stared dumbfounded, then hurried forward and pinned Miwa Masayo down. After helping her untangle her tails, the tabby cat finally regained control of herself.
He sighed. "Rika-chan, it looks like no matter what you want to do, you have to solve the problem with these two tails first. Otherwise, you won't be able to do anything."
The tabby cat kept rubbing her nose and said unclearly, "Ugh, Yoru, you're right. The tails interfere too much, meow. I have to get used to them first, meow."
At this moment, the calico cat Yaeko poked her head in and slipped into the room, then followed the stairs down into the underground taijutsu practice room.
She had been practicing howling at the moon when she heard her elder sister's scream. Because she was worried about Sister Miwa Masayo's safety, she stopped practicing and slipped into the room to see what had happened.
But what she saw was a "cat demon" with two tails.
The little calico was terrified. Her body arched, her fur stood on end, and she let out a threatening hiss.
Only when Miwa Masayo turned around did Yaeko recognize the familiar yet unfamiliar tabby cat.
Then she was completely captivated by those brilliant blue eyes.
It was only when Miwa Masayo staggered over and patted her head with a paw that the little calico barely came back to her senses.
Yaeko was extremely shocked. She stammered, "Two-tailed Sister… glowing-eyed Sister… are you really Sister Miwa Masayo, meow?"
Miwa Masayo patted Yaeko's head again and said, "Of course I'm your Sister Miwa Masayo, you silly Yaeko."
The little calico covered her tiny head and asked back, "But what ninja cat has two tails? Are you a cat demon who ate my sister?"
Yaeko frightened herself with her own imagination. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Cat demon, are you going to eat me too, meow? I'm very small. I don't have meat, only bones, meow. I'll hurt your teeth, meow. Please don't eat me, meow."
Miwa Masayo laughed in anger. She grabbed the calico cat's face with both paws and rubbed it hard, fiercely trying to scare her. "Little cats have soft bones. They're crispy when bitten and taste the best."
"Watch me eat you, meow."
"No, meow!"
Miwa Masayo's limbs and tails were uncoordinated, while Yaeko was terrified and weak-limbed. The ninja cat sisters wrestled together and somehow ended up evenly matched.
Seeing Miwa Masayo barely able to protect herself, yet still trying to bully her younger sister and failing to win, Uchiha Yoru found it both funny and exasperating.
He walked forward and separated the two little cats, then explained Miwa Masayo's situation to Yaeko.
Uchiha Yoru's prestige in the Cat Castle was extremely high. His words were even more convincing than Miwa Masayo's. After hearing his explanation, Yaeko believed that the two-tailed, glowing-eyed tabby cat really was her sister.
But Yaeko could not understand what kind of change Miwa Masayo had undergone, so she asked, "Then does Sister still count as a ninja cat or a cat sage, meow?"
Miwa Masayo was also very curious about her own state, so she asked too, "That's right, meow. What exactly am I now, meow?"
Uchiha Yoru spread his hands. "What else could you be? A cat sage."
Yaeko muttered, "Lord Yoru, I heard that cats with two tails in the ninja world are all monsters. Did Sister turn into a monster, meow?"
As soon as the calico finished speaking, the tabby cat smacked her head with a paw and said irritably, "Silly little sister, do you remember Clan Leader Nekosuke's nickname?"
The calico froze for a moment before answering, "Clan Leader's nickname is 'Two-Tailed Cat'… meow!"
Yaeko looked at Miwa Masayo in surprise and asked, "Lord Nekosuke also has two tails?"
Miwa Masayo nodded. "That's right. He had two tails from the very beginning."
Yaeko became even more surprised. "Both cat sages have two tails. Doesn't that mean I'll also have two tails in the future?"
Uchiha Yoru smiled. "If cat sages can dig out their own bloodline, they should have two tails."
"But Miwa Masayo definitely won't stop at two tails."
"Meow?" x2
Uchiha Yoru asked strangely, "Miwa Masayo, haven't you noticed? Aside from your two tails, there are seven tiny bone lumps at the base of your tail."
"That means you'll grow nine tails in the future."
Miwa Masayo blankly mobilized natural energy and carefully examined her body.
A few minutes later, the entire tabby cat froze.
She stared blankly and muttered in disbelief, "Nine tails… how can my butt fit them all, meow?"
Yaeko even leaned closer and measured up and down with her little paws, too shocked to know what to say.
The two little cats were completely troubled by the question of how nine tails were supposed to fit on one butt.
…
While the two ninja cats were deeply troubled, the Hokage's office was brightly lit.
There were only four ninja in the office.
The Third Hokage, Orochimaru, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu.
All of them were core members of the Hokage faction.
Just now by the Naka River, Orochimaru had deliberately set the stage and allowed the Third Hokage to greatly refresh his popularity. The tense relationship between the two had eased considerably.
Now that Shimura Danzō was no longer stirring trouble, and both master and disciple intended to ease their relationship, the Third Hokage naturally called Orochimaru over for a meeting.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a few puffs from his pipe and said, "We finally gained an advantage on the battlefield, yet strange incidents keep happening in the village. It truly is hard to deal with."
"Orochimaru."
"Sensei."
"There are no outsiders here now. Tell me the truth. What exactly happened with the fire on the Naka River?"
As the Professor of Ninjutsu, Sarutobi Hiruzen's reputation was not undeserved.
At the time, he had already noticed the problem. No Wind Release chakra could possibly decompose river water into two kinds of wind. That exceeded the scope of ninjutsu.
At that time, Konoha's ninja were anxious and unsettled. In order to stabilize morale, he could only tacitly accept Orochimaru's explanation as correct.
Now, Sarutobi Hiruzen had to ask clearly. Otherwise, he absolutely would not feel at ease.
Orochimaru chuckled. "As expected of you, Sensei. But I did not lie back then. It truly was the power of wind that decomposed the river water. Only, the source of that power was not chakra, but natural energy."
The Third Hokage froze.
The word senjutsu immediately made him think of the great fireworks that had exploded over Konoha and Sunagakure last year.
According to later investigations, both fireworks had been created by natural energy.
And today, a new kind of natural energy had appeared.
Had the power of the previous so-called Nature Sage grown stronger, or had a new sage appeared?
When he then thought of the Wood Release ninja hidden in the village who had killed Shimura Danzō, the Third Hokage's head hurt even more.
Suddenly, he felt that sitting in the Hokage's position was like sitting on needles. It was so uncomfortable that he almost wanted to let Orochimaru become the Fourth Hokage.
After all, Orochimaru was already doing the Hokage's work.
But this thought did not even last a second before he immediately extinguished it.
Power was an addictive poison.
For Sarutobi Hiruzen, after wielding the Hokage's authority for twenty years, he had long since become a deeply poisoned addict.
As long as death was not at his doorstep, he would never be able to break free from power.
The Third Hokage took a deep breath, looked at Orochimaru and Mitokado Homura, and asked, "Someone is causing trouble inside Konoha, yet we don't even know who he—or they—are. This is truly disgraceful."
"Most importantly, this mysterious person is too dangerous. If he attacks Konoha, he will definitely cause a huge disaster."
"We must find him. Do either of you have a way to find this person?"
Mitokado Homura froze when he heard this.
He had only just taken over Root and had barely managed to make Root function again. How could he possibly have a solution?
So Mitokado Homura simply looked toward Orochimaru.
His action drew Sarutobi Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu's gazes over as well.
Orochimaru spread his hands helplessly. "I don't have a way for now either. You all know I started looking for him last year, but so far, there have been no results."
Utatane Koharu could not help asking, "There isn't even the slightest clue?"
Orochimaru shook his head and said with certainty, "None at all."
"Why is that?"
"Because of natural energy. To us ninja, natural energy is like something that does not exist at all. We cannot sense it, which is why we cannot capture even the slightest trace of the target."
The Third Hokage said, "Should we call Jiraiya back and have him assist you in tracking natural energy?"
Orochimaru nodded. "That is a good idea. Although Jiraiya's senjutsu is not refined and he cannot use it well in actual combat, his perception of natural energy must be very sharp."
"Also, the toads of Mount Myōboku can also…"
Orochimaru's words were suddenly interrupted by the Third Hokage.
He said decisively, "Forget it. Do not distract Jiraiya. He is the core pillar of the Rain Country battlefield."
"Also, I do not want Mount Myōboku to know that a Nature Sage capable of manipulating natural energy has appeared in the ninja world. I always feel that it would lead to very bad consequences."
"So, Orochimaru, I'll have to trouble you to think more about this."
Orochimaru lowered his head respectfully. "Understood, Sensei. I will think of another way."
"It is already very late, and I still have many matters to handle. Please allow me to take my leave early."
The Third Hokage nodded. "Go. We three old fellows have nothing else to do, so we'll discuss it a little longer."
"If we come up with anything, I'll tell you tomorrow."
"Yes, Sensei. Thank you for your hard work."
With that, Orochimaru left the Hokage's office.
Only after Orochimaru had truly gone far away did Mitokado Homura quietly ask, "Hiruzen, I think calling Jiraiya back is a good idea. It would definitely help us find that mysterious person. Why did you oppose it?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes were gloomy. He looked at Mitokado Homura and said unhappily, "Homura, you are already Root's leader. You can no longer think so simply."
"Yes, Jiraiya's return would definitely help us find that mysterious person. But Jiraiya would also definitely stand together with Orochimaru. If the two of them joined forces, the threat they would pose to us would be… too great."
Mitokado Homura was shocked.
He had never expected that, even when the master and disciple relationship had eased, Sarutobi Hiruzen's wariness of Orochimaru would still be so intense.
He even suspected that Orochimaru and Jiraiya would join forces against him, their teacher.
Utatane Koharu also opened her mouth in surprise and stared blankly at Sarutobi Hiruzen, as if seeing him for the first time.
The Third Hokage smiled bitterly. "Sigh. It is not that I am too cruel, nor that I have no feelings."
"You two were protected a little too well by Danzō and me in the past. You do not understand how cruel political struggle truly is."
"I'll tell you the truth. My affection for Orochimaru has not diminished at all. I also sincerely want him to inherit the Hokage position and become the Fourth Hokage."
"But not now. And not through him fighting for it himself. It must be given by me!"
"I also know that Orochimaru's respect and love for me are not small. If necessary, he would even be willing to die for me. But that does not stop him from seizing my power."
"Orochimaru and I are not just individuals. Behind both of us are countless people supporting us, and at the same time pushing us to fight and seize."
"In truth, you two are also among those pushing me forward. Although each of your requests is not too great or excessive, once they gather here with me, it becomes completely different."
The Third Hokage let out a long sigh.
He looked so exhausted, as though he had suddenly aged five years, and slowly said, "We… have no choice."
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were speechless. Their heads slowly lowered.
At this moment, they finally understood why Sarutobi Hiruzen had valued Shimura Danzō so highly.
It turned out that they really were stronger than themselves.
Not only in strength, but even in wisdom.
They also understood that the requests they had once believed were insignificant were actually not small at all.
But asking them to take a step back and give up their benefits?
That was absolutely impossible.
Under tremendous pressure, Mitokado Homura had already deeply realized how much trouble he had caused Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō in the past.
Even so, he had absolutely no intention of giving up his own resources and power.
Even Root, this shady department he had once hated and even looked down upon, was now something he was reluctant to let go of.
No matter what, it was still a powerful department.
Only, as Mitokado Homura's work increased and the pressure he bore grew heavier, he became extremely dissatisfied, because he felt he was losing out.
Mitokado Homura glanced at Utatane Koharu, and the dissatisfaction in his heart suddenly grew intense.
A voice even sounded in his mind:
Everyone receives about the same amount of resources. Why does Utatane Koharu not have to do anything, while I have to bear this heavy burden and roll around in the dark mud? This isn't fair!
Since I'm already so tired, why can't I ask for more?
Ah! So this was what Danzō used to think?
Danzō, I was wrong about you in the past…
While Mitokado Homura was drowning in self-pity, Utatane Koharu asked, "Hiruzen, what should we do from now on? How should we get along with Orochimaru?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled. "Of course, we should get along well. Since Orochimaru has shown goodwill, we cannot respond with cold faces."
"Besides, I have also figured it out now. The actual decision-making authority of Konoha is still in my hands. Orochimaru has only replaced my executive authority through speed."
"He eased relations with me because he needs my support. That boy really is too clever."
Utatane Koharu's eyes lit up. She said excitedly, "Oh, so Orochimaru needs your support, Hiruzen. Then can we…"
"No!" Mitokado Homura interrupted her without hesitation, then explained, "What Orochimaru proved before was that he has the ability to make all of our ideas fail, preventing them from being carried out at all."
The Third Hokage also said helplessly, "Homura is right. Orochimaru needs my support, but we need Orochimaru's cooperation even more."
"Right now, the initiative is in Orochimaru's hands, not mine."
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