Chapter 096: Nine Lives of a Cat Spirit—A Promising Future?

In a flowering wilderness, Two-Tails Matatabi was joyfully playing with other tailed beasts.

The fuzzy Kurama, the scaly Gyuki, the squirming Chomei, the lazy Saiken, and the energetic Kokuo...

The Sage of Six Paths sat quietly amidst the flower fields, watching them play and frolic.

Matatabi's nimble tail lightly smacked onto Four-Tails Son Goku's back.

Angered, the little monkey sprang into pursuit with wild energy.

After running for quite some time yet still unwilling to give up, the unsatisfied monkey turned instead to provoke Chomei, who wasn't as fast on his feet.

Still just a caterpillar, Chomei furiously spat out silk threads, which missed Son Goku completely and instead wrapped Isobu from head to toe.

Helplessly sighing, Isobu gave Matatabi a look filled with grievance—the one responsible for starting it all.

The air was filled with freedom and joy.

But in an instant, the space transformed dramatically!

The Sage of Six Paths vanished, replaced by a man wearing a heavy golden turban, a knee-length robe glittering with gold, and his hands glittered with jewelry.

All the other tailed beasts were now giants wrapped in white turbans and colorful robes.

They were called giants because their forms towered over Matatabi.

Keep in mind, even in their juvenile forms, tailed beasts were already dozens of times larger than normal humans.

This was Matatabi's first encounter with humans of such size.

Instinctively stepping back, Matatabi felt an ominous premonition rising from deep inside.

...

Name: Matatabi

Class: Housecat

[Nine Lives (Purple)], [Two-Tails Cat Spirit (Purple)], [Gory Fire of Yore (Purple)], [Quick Reflexes (Blue)], [Hunting Instinct (Blue)], [Nimble Agility (Blue)], [Yin-Yang Eyes (Blue)]

...

Observing Matatabi from the shadows within the mental realm, Kei Yamanaka glanced at her skill listings but soon lost interest.

Compared to the Nine-Tails' impressive selection—three purple skills, four blue, plus one red, one white, and one gray—

Matatabi's three purples and four blues seemed underwhelming in comparison.

Just one red skill—"Ku no Maho"—could effortlessly surpass all of Matatabi's skills combined.

No wonder people often said during their previous life: There are only two types of tailed beasts—the Nine-Tails and everyone else.

"Namasde~ little kitty~ we're about to capture you now. Please don't let my servants catch you, or else... Hehehehe~"

Within the genjutsu space, the human transformed from the Sage of Six Paths clapped his hands together and bowed slightly in a peculiar ritualistic pose.

Straightening up, he rocked his head back and forth while murmuring incantations. Before Matatabi could fully grasp what was happening, he waved toward eight giants beside him—once tailed beasts themselves.

The eight towering beings, whose figures loomed even larger than Matatabi, immediately surged toward the stunned feline.

The giant blue cat instinctively dodged, but was quickly surrounded and tackled down by the seasoned group into the field.

"Yamete!"

An earsplitting scream reverberated through the genjutsu space.

Kei Yamanaka resolutely sealed off his perception of the Genjutsu Space and, using Yin Release energy, turned his gaze toward Nii's mental world.

Within this monochrome mindscape, countless pairs of eyes stared intently at Nii, who hugged her knees and crouched on the ground.

The little girl dared not look up at the surrounding glares filled with hostility, disgust, fear, and hatred. Instead, she stared blankly ahead at the only colorful object before her—the [Sugoroku Board].

Each time a piece moved across the board, it reflected scenes of Kei Yamanaka playing with Nii from that day.

In each vision, the little girl appeared extremely cheerful.

And seeing such scenes, the version of Nii within the consciousness space would also manage a faint smile.

But...

As Kei observed the distorted image of himself within these visions, confusion clouded his mind.

What... did this mean?

If these were truly memory fragments, logically speaking, they shouldn't feature intentional distortion of certain figures.

This kind of depiction... as if those images weren't really him at all?

Damn it! What gave me away?

Kei felt puzzled.

He never expected that his disguise—something he believed to be flawless—would end up being exposed here by Nii!

Still confused,

and relying on the fact that communication inside the Mental Realm wouldn't be sensed externally or take much real-world time,

plus possessing ample techniques and hidden advantages for handling any possible situation,

Kei's spiritual form reverted back to his original appearance and sat cross-legged directly in front of Nii.

"...Uncle~! I knew you'd come eventually!"

Nii belatedly noticed Kei sitting opposite her.

After tilting her head and examining him for several seconds, her previously dazed expression brightened like a lustrous pearl emerging from the sea.

Her youthful face also blossomed into a radiant smile.

"How'd you recognize me?"

Kei asked with a smile.

Honestly, even he wasn't sure whether, given another chance, he'd charge in like this again.

This level of trust from Nii weighed heavily on his conscience.

"The Big Cat says your soul smells way tastier than you look."

Nii grinned proudly, flashing her teeth while subtly puffed up with pride.

"Aren't you scared?"

Kei raised an eyebrow, recalling the skill listing of Two-Tails Matatabi earlier and inwardly cursing his miscalculation.

[Yin-Yang Eyes]—capable of seeing through souls!

With the Pure Land controlled by the Six Paths old bastard, this ability didn't seem particularly useful for battle, support, or power enhancement.

But just so happened to be a direct counter to transformation-type Ninjutsu.

Damn it!

The original story never mentioned that Two-Tails had such an ability!

"Uncle~ you're really young-looking~ and very handsome too!"

Nii blinked her large eyes, cheerfully shaking her head in response to Kei's question.

Young and handsome.

His smile was clear and pure, like the sky after rain washing away all dust.

Hmm—

Even better-looking than she'd imagined!

Thank you.

Kei Yamanaka gently flicked Yugito Nii's forehead.

Never would've guessed it—this girl's into good looks too!

"Hehe..."

Yugito Nii covered her forehead with both hands, cheeks lightly blushing.

"Wanna go out?"

"...The big cat's acting up today. Guess I ate something I shouldn't have, so I can't keep it under control."

"It's okay. Your uncle already took care of it. For quite a while now, it won't be any trouble."

"Yeah! Then...was it really okay even though I caused trouble?"

"Trouble? Yugito did great. You're one amazing kid! I'm truly proud of you!"

"Waaahhh~~~!"

Hearing those words, all the pent-up grievances and solitude she'd held back for so long finally spilled over.

She threw herself into Kei's arms and burst into tears.

"As much as I'd love to just take you out like this, hurting others isn't really the way to go."

"Huh? Uncle?"

"This small token is my apology. I hope your future will be filled with hope and light."

As Kei finished speaking, Yugito's consciousness slowly faded into darkness.

Back in reality, the Two-Tails' chakra quickly retreated into the ironclad seal on her abdomen.

Letting out a faint groan, she completely fell unconscious.

"Medical unit!"

Standing outside the barrier with arms crossed, B's tightly pressed lips curved up ever so slightly.

As the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki,

he felt a deeper bond with Yugito Nii—also a Jinchuriki—than most others.

Yet precisely because of that,

he had refrained from using the Eight-Tails' power to help her subdue the beast just now.

He knew exactly what every Jinchuriki needed most.

In the aftermath of this unexpected incident.

<><><><><><><><>

Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!

~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!

<><><><><><><><>

~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!

patreon.com/Tansnovel

<><><><><><><><>