"Meow~ Maybe I went a little too far."
"Drop the 'maybe'," Genma murmured, nodding slightly.
Asuma was a sobbing mess, running and weeping like he hadn't since... well, since the last time the Third Hokage had properly chewed him out years ago.
Takeshi flicked an ear towards Naoki Gekko. "Wrong, meow! You two must have roughed Asuma up. Look at the bruises! I'm telling the Hokage!"
'What?' Naoki stared. 'This infuriating cat... He's the one who made Asuma cry, and now he gets to play the victim? Should I start bawling just to show him? Yeah, right. He'd probably just dare me to try it.'
He sighed internally. 'Doesn't understand humans at all. How does something like this survive as a ninja... Oh, right. He's a cat.' The thought only made Naoki feel worse. How could a mere cat be this impossible? And promoted so fast, too.
'Forget it. He's not worth arguing with.' He sighed aloud this time. "Alright, show's over. Asuma's having a rough enough time as it is."
"Meow~ Gotta talk to Jiraiya," Takeshi replied, waving a paw dismissively. "They'll be fine with you." And with a flicker that felt disturbingly familiar, he vanished.
'That jutsu...' Genma mused silently. 'Where have I seen that before...?' His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Naoki's gaze land on Ebisu, a concentrated look crossing his face.
Naoki walked over, clapping Ebisu earnestly on the shoulder. "Kid," he said, his expression unreadable, "you might want to change later." He gestured vaguely at Ebisu's standard-issue black uniform before turning towards the Small Ravine. Takeshi's promotion had clearly gotten under his skin, anything black seemed to irritate him now.
Ebisu just pushed his dark glasses up his nose, bewildered.
Guy, seemingly oblivious, barely registered Takeshi's departure before taking off himself, perhaps trying to follow the cat.
"Don't mind him," Genma sighed, patting Ebisu's other shoulder. "Gekko's just... sensitive about black right now. Takeshi really got to him. It's Takeshi-Sensei's fault, not yours."
---
Meanwhile, the main camp had shifted, pushed further towards the Kusagakure border, now situated across the river from its previous position. Takeshi had intended to teleport to the riverside, only to find the camp already relocated.
No matter.
Takeshi had tagged Jiraiya with a jutsu marker earlier, planning to corner him and demand his cut, earning points, or money, had become something of an obsession. Missing him briefly wasn't a major setback.
Locking onto the marker again, Takeshi activated the Flying Thunder God technique, jumping directly to Jiraiya's location.
In the northern sector of the camp, Jiraiya was meticulously numbering the pages of his latest manuscript – Volume Two – when space seemed to ripple beside him.
Then...
A black cat materialized on his shoulder.
"Gah!" Jiraiya yelped, hand jerking, nearly sending pages scattering across the tent floor. He clutched the manuscript desperately, half a day's work, almost wasted. He glared at the feline intruder, annoyance warring with exhaustion. "Shouldn't you be with Tsunade?"
"Meow~ Just got promoted to Squad Leader," Takeshi announced casually. "Happened to be in the area, figured I'd drop by." Its gaze fell on the 'Volume Two' label on the cover page. 'Perfect timing,' He thought, mentally patting himself on the back. 'He must have sorted out the royalties for Volume One by now.' He pointed a paw at the manuscript, then gestured vaguely towards the world outside the tent.
Jiraiya followed the gestures, his brow furrowing for a second before his eye started twitching violently. He remembered. Oh, he remembered very unpleasant things associated with Volume One. "If you're here about the royalties," he ground out glumly "I can tell you right now, there's nothing left. Not a single ryo."
'What? Nothing?!' Takeshi was shocked. His eyes widened in disbelief.
'Did it flop?!'
'That can't be. Aside from the Tsunade-inspired character design, everything else was fine! With the entertainment level of this world and the future success of Jiraiya's Make-Out Paradise series, this book should be a guaranteed hit. How could there be no money?'
'Could it be that Jiraiya, this bastard, did he skim my share?!'
"Don't look at me like that!" Jiraiya snapped, looking genuinely pained. "I didn't see a single Ryo! Think! Think about what happened last time! Tsunade! Tsunade!?" He continued looking exhausted, "First, it was just one shop owner whose place got smashed... I figured, okay, fine, I'll cover it. Then suddenly, all her creditors were banging down the publisher's door! My royalties... our royalties..." He looked ready to weep. Writing wasn't easy! And it had all gone to cover her bottomless debts. He cursed the day he'd based the heroine on that legendary gambler.
"What about Volume Two's?" Takeshi asked frustrated as well.
'If that money is gone too,' it thought grimly, 'I might as well scrap this whole project and start over.'
"I already told them," Jiraiya said, lowering his voice conspiratorially and glancing around the tent flaps. "Volume Two onwards, the money has nothing to do with Tsunade. If they come near me again about her debts they will face a pissed of Sannin, and... and that woman..." He trailed off, scanning the surroundings once more as if expecting her to appear.
Takeshi gave him a look dripping with disdain before hopping neatly onto the table beside the manuscript. "Fine. Consider Volume One my contribution to the 'Tsunade Bailout Fund'. Meow~ But Volume Two..."
"Don't worry," Jiraiya gritted out. "I'm handling this one myself. Remember, I get sixty percent! Believe me, I care more than you do. If that publisher tries to short us, I'll shake every last ryo out of him. If worse comes to worst... I'll pay your share out of my own pocket." He felt like he was working for free. If he hadn't sent a toad to investigate, he would have thought someone had pocketed the money.
"Meow~ You wouldn't have to do that," Takeshi purred, though his paw instinctively stretched towards the manuscript pile.
Jiraiya's glare could have melted steel.
Takeshi quickly retracted his paw. 'Okay, okay, just being polite,' he thought hastily. 'Can't really ask him to cover Volume One.' Besides, the mission points he had earned recently were decent compensation for the lost cash. Still... it stung. Judging by Jiraiya's agony, Volume One must have brought in a fortune, all poured into the black hole of Tsunade's gambling habits. Infuriating.
'No, can't let him off that easy.'
Takeshi let out a theatrical sigh. "Really, I'm fine. It's you I feel sorry for. All that hard work, just to bail out Tsunade-Sensei... and you probably got beaten up for your troubles, too! Still," he added brightly, "her coming back is good for Konoha, so try not to feel too bad..." Each word was a carefully placed senbon.
Jiraiya's face crumpled further with each syllable, but years of dealing with difficult personalities kicked in. Through the sting of the words, he recognized the deliberate cruelty. 'This malicious furball!'
Gritting his teeth as Takeshi continued his poisonous stream of faux sympathy, Jiraiya lunged, hand shooting out to grab the cat. But the instant his fingers brushed sleek black fur-
*FSSSH!*
Ice bloomed with blinding speed, encasing his hand and wrist. A biting cold seeped towards his arm, stopped only by a reflexive flare of protective chakra.
'Ice Release?!' Jiraiya stared, stunned.
"Just awakened it, meow!" Takeshi preened from the table. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"Very impressive," Jiraiya growled through clenched teeth, channeling chakra to shatter the ice around his hand. He flexed his stinging fingers, staring hard at Takeshi. 'Damn cat's getting stronger. Fast.' He scowled. 'If this keeps up... even I might have trouble handling him soon. These blasted geniuses!'
Resentment flared hot, then abruptly cooled as a new thought struck him. A slow, calculating grin spread across Jiraiya's face.
'Wait a second... Water Release and Ice Release... Heh. If Rasa over in Suna starts causing trouble again... let the cat deal with him.'
'Wonderful!'
===============
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.