The core of the dried small fish lay in the medicinal formula.
That was something Uchiha Yoru had painstakingly refined—over fifty ninja cats had tested it on themselves before it finally stabilized into something usable.
Aside from what was stored in his mind, there was only a single scroll recording the formula.
And that scroll?
It was hidden between Neko-you's claws.
Without killing him, it was impossible to steal.
Yoru personally demonstrated the entire process—starting from frying the small fish, crushing them, blending in the medicinal ingredients, then mixing everything with flour before shaping and deep-frying the final product.
Thirty-one translucent fish.
After frying, they only yielded 430 grams.
But the process consumed a full five hundred kilograms of flour.
Once completed, the finished product piled up like a small mountain.
Neko-you and the ninja cats divided the dried fish into smaller portions, carefully sealing them into 534 storage scrolls—burning through nearly eighty percent of the Cat Castle's stockpile.
Not a single ninja cat felt it was a waste.
They all understood the value of the dried fish far exceeded the scrolls.
If storage failed and even a single kilogram spoiled, the loss would outweigh all those scrolls several times over.
As for Neko-you?
Without even blinking, he handed over two hundred kilograms directly to Uchiha Yoru and Miwa Masayo.
Not a single ninja cat found that strange.
If anything, they felt he could have given more.
Yoru only managed to persuade them by pointing out that he couldn't carry any more—and that whatever remained stored in Cat Castle could be accessed anytime in the future.
Once everything was packed, it was time to part ways.
Neko-you personally escorted them for several kilometers before finally stopping.
The massive white cat stood there—his fur pure as snow, without a single blemish. His mane around the neck was thick and dense, swaying gently in the wind.
At a glance, he looked less like a cat…
…and more like a true white lion.
Then suddenly, he pulled out a strip of dried fish, tossed it into his mouth, and crunched down with loud, crisp bites.
A blissful expression spread across his face as he swallowed, savoring the fullness brought by digesting such extraordinary food.
He burst into laughter.
"Work hard, all of you!"
"As long as you earn enough merit, you can exchange it for dried fish from me!"
"From today onward, as long as you're diligent, every ninja cat has a chance to grasp Sage Arts—maybe even become a Cat Sage!"
The ninja cats had already tasted different portions of the flour-based dried fish according to their strength.
They had personally experienced just how miraculous it was.
Hearing Neko-you's words—and recalling that final batch of five hundred kilograms—every single one of them felt their confidence in Cat Castle's future surge.
Their morale soared.
They threw themselves into work with renewed vigor, determined to complete the Ninja Cat Fortress as soon as possible.
But before anything else…
They would first build the lakeside villa Neko-you had promised.
That was the reward for Miwa Masayo and Uchiha Yoru.
It would stand atop a protruding giant rock on the western side of the valley—the very first place to greet the morning sun.
—
Yoru chose to head south along the river.
By riding the rapid currents of the Land of Rivers, he could shave off nearly a third of the travel time.
After passing the ruined remains of Nine Forest Village and continuing south for over a hundred kilometers…
He and Miwa Masayo parted ways.
As planned, one would head toward the River Capital, the other toward Sunagakure.
"Set the time. Seventy-two hours from now, reverse-summon me in Sunagakure."
"Got it, meow. You also need to light the Everlasting Lamp on time, meow."
"Rika-chan, be careful in the Land of Wind. If anything feels off, retreat immediately. Either return to Cat Castle or go back to Konoha."
"Idiot Yoru. In the entire ninja world, who could even keep up with my flame jump, meow?"
"…Just prioritize safety."
"You too, meow."
Masayo casually pulled out a strip of dried fish, chewing as she dashed west at incredible speed.
In the blink of an eye, she disappeared beyond the hillside.
Yoru shook his head with a faint smile and continued south along the water.
—
After parting ways, he activated natural energy.
On the rushing river surface, each step he took released a faint shaping of natural energy, which he then infused with chakra to trigger its effect.
A technique so simple it barely qualified as ninjutsu.
Yet beneath his feet—
An orange-red flower of flame bloomed.
The flame flower rapidly vaporized water through Fire Release, while Wind Release shaped the resulting steam into a derivative structure that generated immense thrust.
With that force pushing him forward—
His speed surged.
Behind him, towering columns of water erupted, several meters high, as he shot forward and vanished into the distance.
With water flow, ninjutsu, and reverse thrust combined…
His speed reached 110 kilometers per hour.
At that velocity, the greatest threat wasn't enemies—
But obstacles in the river.
He had to rely entirely on the Sharingan to weave, dodge, and adjust his path.
His only regret…
Was his lack of control.
If his control were ten times stronger, he could use natural energy to manipulate chakra more precisely—combining Wind and Fire Release into a jet propulsion structure.
At that point, he wouldn't just run—
He would become a flying cruise missile.
Flight was inherently faster than land movement.
More concealed.
And far less troublesome.
—
After more than twenty hours of continuous movement, Yoru had covered nearly two thousand kilometers.
His destination was close.
The River Capital.
Located in the southern alluvial plains of the Land of Rivers, it sat at the mouth of hundreds of rivers flowing into the sea—controlling the major route between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
The countless tributaries required thousands of bridges.
Thus, it was also known as—
The City of a Thousand Bridges.
In the era of samurai, it had been a fortress—easy to defend, hard to attack.
With fertile land and abundant water, it had always been a contested strategic point.
But in the age of ninjas?
Rivers and bridges meant nothing.
The city became easy to attack and impossible to hold.
During the two great ninja wars, it changed hands more than thirty times.
Not once did it see a proper siege.
Ironically, that "peace" preserved the city's vitality, allowing it to grow into the largest commercial hub in the south.
After the last war, Konoha, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure signed an agreement:
The River Capital would remain permanently neutral.
No military installations allowed.
Regardless of who occupied it, all three villages' ninja institutions must be permitted to operate within.
Faced with such pressure, the Land of Rivers' ruler didn't dare object.
Even the original ninja village relocated north into the mountains, renaming itself Valley Hidden Village.
It gradually declined.
Meanwhile, the River Capital flourished.
It surpassed every city in the Land of Wind and Land of Water.
Even in the Land of Fire, only Konoha and the Fire Capital could compare.
And just outside the city—
The famous gambling district, Tanzaku Street.
—
When Yoru came within two hundred kilometers of the city, crossing a chaotic field of piled boulders—
He could already feel the prosperity.
Villages lined the riverbanks.
Boats moved endlessly along the waterways.
The atmosphere was bustling.
He ceased his technique, stepping across the water's surface as he weaved between ships and continued south.
By the time the city's silhouette appeared on the horizon—
The density of boats had become congested.
Ninjas moved frequently between vessels.
It took him a full two hours…
To finally reach Konoha's outpost in Jingchuan Town.
—
The one who received him was a familiar face—a middle-aged ninja from his old captain's unit.
They got along well enough.
During a past mission, their team had clashed with Iwagakure ninjas.
The man's arm had been blown apart.
By the time he returned to the village, it had rotted beyond saving.
Amputation had been the only option.
Without both hands, he could no longer form seals.
Like most chūnin in that situation—
He had been forced into retirement.
"So what brings you all the way south to submit a mission? Wouldn't returning to the village be faster?"
Yoru replied calmly, "I came along the river. It didn't take much longer."
"And I completed an additional urgent task for the client. I've got the documents and the bonus."
"Missions in the Land of Rivers need to be verified here. If I went back to the village, who knows how long it'd take."
"Haha, fair enough. Handling it here saves a lot of back-and-forth delays."
The administrative ninja verified the documents, checked the hidden marks in the archive, confirmed the mission completion, deducted a portion of the reward as processing fees, and updated Yoru's record.
The handover was complete.
Before he left, the man hesitated.
"…How is Captain Yuanshang doing these days?"
Yoru glanced at him.
"Same as you. Retired. Working as an administrative ninja at the mission center."
"I thought the captain would make it to a proper retirement…"
The man raised his right arm—cut clean at the elbow.
"…Aside from those big clan elites, I've never seen a ninja truly retire intact."
"…You will. Someday."
Realizing he had stirred up old wounds, Yoru left after a brief reassurance.
—
The River Capital was prosperous.
Plenty of missions.
Yoru quickly picked up a new one—
Hunting sailfish.
A species native to the southern seas of the ninja world.
Fierce.
Extremely fast.
Its meat was firm, rich in fat—top-tier ingredients.
Difficult to catch.
And even harder to transport before it spoiled.
Thus, it became one of the most common bounty missions—
And one of the least popular.
Not because ninjas couldn't catch them.
But because it relied entirely on luck.
The information came from sailors—usually days old, hundreds of kilometers off.
A sailfish could travel ninety kilometers per hour.
The intel was practically useless.
Most ninjas ignored the mission.
Instead, they would hunt sailfish opportunistically during other missions.
If they failed, no loss.
If they succeeded, someone would bring it back for extra profit.
Yoru hadn't known all this at first.
Seeing the mission's high freedom and low surveillance risk—
He accepted it.
After learning the details, he didn't care.
Money didn't matter.
Completion rates didn't matter.
What mattered was getting out to sea as soon as possible—
Finding a remote island—
And preparing for Sunagakure.
—
Miwa Masayo hadn't been exaggerating.
Ninja cats were desert creatures.
The moment she stepped out of the canyon and onto the burning sands of the Land of Wind—
Her bloodline awakened.
She could instinctively determine direction.
Smell water sources a hundred kilometers away.
Walk steadily on soft sand with her spread paw pads.
Her thick fur shielded her from the sun by day—
And preserved warmth at night.
Most importantly—
She had instinctively grasped a technique to collect dew.
Even without an oasis, she could sustain herself.
As a Cat Sage wielding Fire-attribute sage chakra—
Three hundred degrees meant nothing.
The desert's seventy-degree daytime heat was trivial.
The real problem was—
She didn't know where Sunagakure was.
Distracted by dried fish, she had forgotten to ask her owner before leaving.
And due to secrecy, she couldn't ask anyone.
So she followed chains of oases, tracing water veins and checking convergence points one by one.
Day and night—
She ran nonstop.
Fueled by dried fish.
Until noon on the third day—
She found it.
Right as the seventy-two-hour mark arrived—
She successfully reverse-summoned Uchiha Yoru.
It hadn't been easy.
—
As the dizziness from spatial transfer faded, Yoru looked at her—
And froze.
"…Rika-chan… what happened to you?"
Her fur was matted.
Sand clung everywhere.
Her tabby pattern was completely buried.
She looked like a rolling dirt ball.
Masayo shot him an annoyed look.
"You forgot to tell me where Sunagakure is. I had to search the entire desert. I ran for three days straight, meow!"
"…Head to the southern sea."
Yoru smiled.
"I've already prepared hot water and food in the cave."
"Fresh grilled sea crab. Stone-grilled squid. Bonito rice balls. And coconut water…"
"Sounds amazing, meow."
"Go clean up, eat something first. Then you can reverse-summon me again."
"…That urgent, meow?"
"This is the desert. Approaching Sunagakure underground is easy."
"I don't need to break into the village—just get close enough outside."
"Setting off fireworks toward the village will take about fifteen minutes."
"By then, the entire place will be in chaos."
"If a whole ninja village surrounds me…"
"I won't last long."
Masayo narrowed her eyes, examining him.
"So you're ready for a fight. No wonder you dressed like when you hunted Umino Keisuke."
"If I can't control space myself, I need redundancy."
"I don't want to fight—but I have to be ready."
"…Also, this time is different. I didn't bring goggles."
"…Aren't they under your mask? How would I even know, meow?"
"…Forget it. I'm leaving, meow."
She conjured a small flame, sensed the distance, and muttered:
"…That's pretty far."
Then—
She leapt into the fire and vanished.
Yoru sank into the ground—
And began moving.
—
Ten minutes later.
Outside Sunagakure's natural rock wall.
Beneath the endless desert—
Five dark holes appeared.
In the dead of night, the sentries atop the rock wall had no night vision.
They couldn't see holes barely forty centimeters wide.
Until—
A red glow emerged from within.
Patrolling ninjas rushed over after receiving the alert.
But before they could approach—
Five muffled explosions erupted.
Five corpses shot into the sky, trailing sparks of fire.
Hostility—unmistakable.
Even without sensing chakra, the alarm was instantly raised.
"Enemy attack!!"
"Alert!!"
As the entire village mobilized—
Five brilliant fireworks exploded overhead.
Lighting up Sunagakure—
For a single, blinding instant.
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