Chapter 114: Tiger!

Sakiya kicked a small rock as she walked, humming a tune. She seemed to be in a great mood.

Kakashi followed behind, watching her silently, deep in thought.

[Did I really lose anything? Doesn't seem like it. The mission reward is 10 million, and her snack bill is only about 2 million a month. Yeah… acceptable.]

Suddenly, Sakiya kicked the rock a little harder.

The small stone flew into the nearby forest.

In the woods, a large tiger was crouched in the grass, stalking a rabbit that was peacefully nibbling on some grass.

Just as the tiger was about to pounce—

Thunk!

A small stone landed right on its head.

The rock was tiny, barely noticeable against its massive frame, but it was just enough to alert the rabbit.

The rabbit's ears twitched as it noticed the tiger, and in an instant, it bolted.

The tiger cursed its luck.

It knew chasing the rabbit through the thick forest would be difficult, but it wasn't ready to give up.

It lunged—

And missed completely.

The rabbit ducked at the last second, slipping away through the undergrowth.

The tiger stood there, fuming.

Hunting was already difficult in this dense forest, and now, thanks to some random falling rock, its meal had escaped.

Frustrated, it turned toward the direction the stone had come from.

It wanted payback.

Just as it prepared to move, a small head peeked out from the grass.

Sakiya's eyes sparkled when she saw the massive tiger.

"Whoa~! My magic stone led me straight to a high-level beast!"

The tiger, seeing this new prey, perked up.

It lunged at her.

Sakiya yelped and ducked into the tall grass.

The tiger halted just outside the grass, annoyed. The human wasn't moving.

Was it waiting for something?

The tiger hesitated. It knew humans were tricky. What if there was a trap inside?

It waited.

Nothing happened.

Maybe the human was too scared to move?

Curious, the tiger cautiously stretched its head toward the grass for a closer look.

Thwack!

A small white hand shot out and smacked it on the head before vanishing back into the grass.

The tiger recoiled, startled, then immediately snapped its jaws at the retreating hand—

But it was too slow.

It stood there, stunned.

As the king of the forest, it had just been mocked by a human.

It was furious.

Watching from a distance, Kakashi sighed.

Another unfortunate creature caught up in Sakiya's antics.

The tiger decided to go all in.

If there was a trap, speed would be the key.

It crouched low, then charged straight into the grass.

Sakiya grinned and pressed her hand against the ground.

"Little earth wall!"

A thick wall of dirt shot up instantly.

THUD!

The tiger slammed face-first into the wall.

Dazed, it staggered back, head spinning, completely disoriented.

The tiger staggered a few steps before collapsing to the ground.

Sakiya immediately walked over and placed her hands on its head.

"Whoa~! So fluffy! And it's warm too."

Kakashi joined her, looking down at the unconscious tiger—easily two meters tall.

"This thing grew so big for nothing. It's really not the smartest, huh?"

Sakiya nodded, running her fingers over the distinctive markings on its forehead.

"For a high-level beast, it's not very smart… but it does look pretty cool."

Kakashi glanced at her and suddenly realized something. His eyes narrowed.

"Wait… are you thinking of making this thing your summoning beast?"

Sakiya grinned.

"Hee hee, you got it!"

"You seriously want this as your summon?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sakiya folded her arms and nodded confidently.

"I haven't found the perfect one yet, but this one checks at least one box. So, for now, it'll do."

Kakashi sighed and examined the tiger more closely.

It did have some chakra—but it was still just a regular beast. It probably wouldn't be much use in an actual fight.

As a summoning beast, it was… pretty underwhelming.

But then he looked at Sakiya's bright, excited eyes and knew there was no talking her out of it.

Forget it. She did say it's temporary. Probably just likes how it looks.

He decided to let her have her fun.

---------

Ten minutes later, the unconscious tiger stirred. Its eyes fluttered open, and the first thing it saw was a human girl squatting right in front of it.

At first, its gaze was confused—but then its instincts kicked in. Its eyes turned sharp, and its jaws parted wide as it prepared to lunge—

Except…

It couldn't move.

The only part of its body that still worked was its mouth.

Its powerful limbs? Completely bound.

Sakiya sat just a few centimeters away, watching with a mischievous glint in her eye.

She reached out and flicked the tiger's nose.

"Heh. Can't bite me, can you?"

The tiger let out a low growl, twisting its head and snapping its jaws in frustration.

But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't reach her.

Three minutes passed.

It panted, exhausted, finally realizing there was nothing it could do.

Sakiya grinned and tapped its nose again.

This time, the tiger just flopped onto the ground, defeated.

Seeing its reaction, she scooted closer and placed her hand on its head.

The tiger, now waiting for the perfect moment, narrowed its eyes.

Then—just as she let her guard down—its muscles tensed, and it lunged forward, jaws wide open—

Snap!

Kakashi covered his face with one hand.

"Too brutal. I can't watch."

The tiger's eyes widened in shock.

It had never bitten anything so hard in its life. The moment its teeth made contact, a sharp pain shot through its jaw. It felt like its fangs were cracking apart.

With a muffled whimper, it spat out whatever was in its mouth.

A dull clink followed as a black, rock-like object—now smeared with a bit of blood—dropped to the ground.

A… stone?

A massive, solid rock.

The tiger stared at it, stunned. Then, as the ache in its teeth grew worse, its expression twisted into despair.

Sakiya crouched down in front of it, reaching out to pat its head.

"There, there~ It doesn't hurt, right?"

The tiger's frustration boiled over. It refused to accept this humiliation!

With renewed determination, it lunged forward and bit down again—

Crack!

Clatter—

Two of its fangs hit the ground.

The tiger froze. Its eyes filled with tears as it spat out the stone and broken teeth. Then, defeated, it collapsed onto the ground and let out a silent cry.

Its fangs… were gone.

How was it supposed to hunt now?

How was it supposed to eat?

It was over.

This was the end.

At that moment, Sakiya reappeared, casually reaching out to pat its head again.

"Good boy~ No more acting up."

The tiger didn't even twitch. It had learned its lesson. It let the human girl stroke its fur, its body stiff with resentment.

Damn humans!

Then, Sakiya pulled out a summoning contract scroll, already marked with her name. Chihiro had given it to her.

She grabbed the tiger's paw and, ignoring its weak struggles, pressed it down onto the scroll.

"Done!" she announced.

Kakashi, who had been watching the whole thing unfold, blinked in confusion.

"Uh… Sakiya, a summoning contract has to be signed willingly with chakra. Does it even count if you just force it?"

Sakiya tapped a finger to her temple, pretending to think, then held up the scroll.

A big, clear tiger paw print was stamped onto it.

She beamed.

"Looks fine to me!"

With that, she pulled out a kunai and took a step toward the tiger.

Seeing her approach with a sharp weapon and a bright smile, the tiger flinched.

It let out a few warning growls, trying to act tough—

But Sakiya didn't react.

Instead, she knelt down and—without a moment's hesitation—untied the ropes.

The tiger hesitated, then immediately scrambled to its feet, shaking itself off.

For a brief moment, it looked pleased.

Then, realization dawned.

It took a cautious step back, eyeing Sakiya warily.

This girl was dangerous.

The other human? A genuine threat.

Nope. Not worth the risk.

Without another second of hesitation, the tiger bolted into the forest.

Kakashi watched it disappear into the trees, frowning.

"Are you sure it actually signed the contract?"

Sakiya watched the tiger run with a satisfied smile, then turned to Kakashi.

"Of course!"

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