Chapter 205: Return to the Village

One day later, on the road back to Konoha.

"Partner, you really have great taste, meow!"

Hina's mouth was still a bit greasy from eating grilled fish. Lounging in a shadow's arms, she licked her fur contentedly as she spoke.

Having just become a "house-trained" ninja cat, she had already been treated to a lavish meal—a real delight.

[I knew becoming a house cat was the right call!]

Enjoying the warmth of the embrace and the massage, she thought of Youhuo back in that empty town, still lying around waiting for customers, and felt inwardly smug.

"But let's be clear," Link said with a smile, "when I need you for something, you can't just cause trouble."

Raise a cat for a thousand days, use it for one moment.

When he'd been tracking Utakata, he had really suffered from a lack of scouting or tracking techniques. Since he hadn't found any suitable scouting ninjas to summon, he figured he might as well raise a ninja cat to help. In any case, once his older generation of shadows was upgraded, they'd be stepping back from the front lines. Taking care of a cat wouldn't cost him too much effort personally.

Spending a bit of money on it was no big deal.

"Don't worry; leave finding things and gathering intel to me, nya~!" Hina promised cheerfully. Crossing her front paws over her chest, she lay sideways, resting her head on the shadow's arm and watching the scenery whiz by.

She was not like those typical ninja cats who were unorganized and undisciplined; otherwise, she wouldn't have stood out enough to be one of the gatekeeper cats at Nekobaa's ninja tool shop. Ninjas get paid for a job, and so do ninja cats. The only requirement was that she recognized the human and was well taken care of. Otherwise...

"We're here."

Catching sight of Konoha's gates, Link slowed down. He hadn't been back for a while, and there was a faint sense of attachment. After all, it was the home he'd known in this life.

Hina made a show of hopping off the shadow and walking faithfully by his side.

He entered the village without any issues. Suddenly, the patrol squad's ninja dog arched its back at the two shadows carrying Hidan's remains, baring its teeth and letting out a low, threatening growl.

"Grrr... woof!"

"Haimaru!"

The veterinarian of the medical unit and patrol member, Inuzuka Hana, called out. She walked over, saw Link, and nodded. "What's in that bag?"

She was just asking out of curiosity; in reality, whatever he brought in was no big deal. Given his status, nobody was likely to question it.

A ninja cat too?

She noticed Hina following beside him.

"Oh, this?" Link smiled. "It's new experimental equipment for the medical unit. You can call it 'Mr. D.' It's going to be quite useful."

What a bizarre name...

Inuzuka Hana took a sniff, picking up a faint human-blood smell. Deciding it wasn't her concern, she left with the ninja dog.

Finally, Link made it onto Konoha's streets. Hina, who had only just been playing the role of a loyal companion, gave up after a mere hundred meters and jumped back into the shadow's arms—her lazy cat nature in full display.

Many passersby stared at the shadow's strange figure—its entire body pitch-black and humanoid—truly an odd sight.

Link leapt up onto the rooftops and quickly returned home. The place was spotless, and someone had sprayed some sort of perfume?

The scent in the room was a bit strange.

Before leaving, he had handed the key to Sasuke.

"Hina, what kind of cat bed do you want?" Link asked, having his shadow fish out the clothes he intended to change into.

His apartment wasn't exactly small, but it certainly didn't have room for a second bedroom. He had no choice but to buy a cat bed.

Hina thought for a moment and rattled off a bunch of demands. She had no intention of holding back. Having essentially sold her life to a human, she might as well enjoy herself.

Link jotted down each request, planning to drop by the pet store after he finished at the medical unit later that day. "When I leave the village on missions, I'll take you with me. Otherwise, you're free to come and go as you please."

He didn't expect a pet cat to be of immediate use, anyway. In his previous life, he'd liked cats quite a bit, so just having one around for fun was fine. Besides, he'd come back with a nice stack of money and had no qualms about cat expenses.

He then split off three shadows that were already outdated in combat terms to stay with Hina, and headed into the bathroom with a change of clothes to take a shower.

While the water splashed down, a sudden thought struck him—

Having a cat was one thing, but having a ninja cat under the same roof meant he couldn't exactly walk around naked after a bath anymore, could he?

He never did sleep naked, but losing even that bit of privacy felt a little weird.

Still, he didn't really mind. In fact, he felt somewhat excited about his life going forward.

So even I can't beat loneliness, huh?

Letting the warm water stream across his face, Link stared at the white tiles and gave a nonchalant smile.

He was human, after all. There are some emotions you just can't avoid. You learn to adapt and use them to your advantage.

…

Medical Unit Building

"Tsunade's away on business?" Link asked, a bit puzzled. He casually placed a scroll on the table. "Here are the herbs needed for the mission."

"I've already used up all the medicine I took with me last time."

He had left with half a year's worth of supplies, only to burn through them in just over a month—truly like eating them as if they were normal food, though each use became less effective than the last.

Shizune accepted the scroll, seeming somewhat off. "I'll go get your medicine."

A short while later, she returned carrying a large bundle, apparently well-prepared.

"There's a new formula in here," she explained. "Lady Tsunade developed it recently to improve stamina. Taken long-term, it can boost your chakra reserves slightly. But it has strong side effects, so be sure to use it sparingly."

She set aside a small pouch of pills separate from the large bundle.

"Understood. Thanks." Link paused, then added, "By the way, I ran into some of the Akatsuki out there—and managed to capture one."

He gave her a brief rundown of the so-called "Immortal Duo" and had the shadow behind him set the bag with Hidan's fragments on the table.

Shizune looked interested—being a medical ninja, she naturally found the idea of an "immortal body" fascinating.

They went into the lab together, one after the other, and took out the head.

Hidan's head was encased in a bubble—a secret jutsu of Utakata's. A light poke would burst it, but as long as it stayed intact, it blocked out both sound and smell, preventing Hidan's endless spitting attacks.

On the way to the Land of Waves base, Hidan had constantly spat at people to disgust them, so they had adopted this isolation measure.

His so-called "immortal body" merely meant he wouldn't die when cut into pieces; once reattached, his wounds would heal. He was hardly unconditionally immortal—he still needed nutrition, or he would die or rot.

Up to now, Utakata and the shadows had fed him on a schedule. Now that he was out of the bubble, they no longer had that convenient way to keep him.

~~~

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