Ebisu's emotions had been on a rollercoaster ever since they started following the black cat. His mind raced, wondering what kind of chaos Takeshi would unleash next.
Genma Shiranui and a now fully alert Might Guy weren't feeling any more at ease. Guy's reactions in daily life might have been slow at times, but he wasn't an idiot.
'A ninja beast as a Jonin Sensei?' The thought was unsettling. 'No wonder that Chunin who assigned the mission had that weird look on his face.' Back when they first heard they'd be getting a Jonin leader, they'd been overjoyed, too naive. If they had known this was what awaited them, they wouldn't have been so eager.
Regret filled their hearts.
Just looking at the black cat striding ahead, they knew something was off. And whatever trials awaited them, they were sure they wouldn't be pleasant.
"Alright, meow, we'll stop here," Takeshi announced.
He had led them deep into the Forest of Death-to a very familiar place.
This was where Kakashi had once tormented him, where blood, sweat, and countless tears had been shed.
A wave of painful memories washed over him. He could still remember it clearly-just a small innocent kitten back then, barely able to escape Might Guy's relentless pursuit, only to run headfirst into Kakashi...
Takeshi's tail flicked in mild irritation. 'Yes, this would be the perfect place to test them.'
Ebisu didn't matter much-he was just along for the ride. The real focus was on Genma and Guy.
It wasn't that Takeshi looked down on Ebisu, per se. But judging by his future performance, the kid's ceiling wasn't all that high. He had solid fundamentals, sure, but his combat skills were... unimpressive.
Relying on kunai and shuriken throws alone, there was no way he could even scratch Takeshi. 'Sigh~ Most kids from civilian families ended up like that.'
Among the three, only Genma came from a ninja clan-the Shiranui Clan of Konoha. They specialized in throwing weapons like kunai and senbon and were even involved in Konoha's ninja tool trade. Meanwhile, the other two were commoners.
"Meow~ Alright, let's see what you've got," Takeshi said, settling onto a low-hanging branch. "Guy, I'll allow you to open the first two gates of the Eight Inner Gates."
Guy's eyes widened. "The Eight Gates?! How do you know about that?"
Even their previous squad leader, Furukawa Makoto, hadn't known about the technique. Guy had never used it in front of anyone, yet this black cat casually mentioned it-and even knew how many gates he was capable of opening.
That meant Takeshi had actual knowledge of the technique.
"That's none of your concern, meow," Takeshi said lazily in no mood for playing games. "Just come at me with everything you've got."
With that, Takeshi's body suddenly grew-expanding from a small, sleek black cat into something massive, the size of a lion. His once soft, cute form had transformed into something truly menacing.
Genma's grip tightened on the senbon in his mouth. 'This is bad.' He stole a quick glance at Ebisu and Guy. 'Mom, I think I'll be eating hospital food tonight.'
Still, Genma clenched his jaw.
He wasn't about to let a cat look down on him. He had to prove himself-to show the pride of the Shiranui Clan.
Takeshi studied him. 'This kid acts calm, but his body language betrays him, his head is full of unnecessary thoughts... Has he been hanging around Ebisu too much? Oh well. He'd teach them both a lesson later.'
"Here I go!" Guy suddenly roared. Then, in a flash, he bolted into the forest.
Genma's eyes lit up. He and Ebisu quickly moved as well, vanishing into the trees.
'Good.' Even Guy understood that charging in headfirst wasn't smart. A strong opponent forced you to improve- 'Wait, hold on-'
"Leaf Hurricane!"
A battle cry rang out.
After a grand total of two seconds of hiding, Guy came bursting out of the forest at full speed, launching a flying kick straight at Takeshi.
Genma nearly facepalmed. 'Guy, you're fighting a cat. A CAT! Did he not realize that cats were naturally faster than humans? This was going to be a disaster.'
"Save him!" Genma shouted, quickly forming hand seals. 'Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!'
A thick earth wall shot up from the ground, cutting between Guy and the black cat.
Genma let out a sigh of relief-Then froze.
With the smallest flick of his paw, Takeshi shattered the entire wall like it was made of paper.
Genma's jaw nearly hit the ground. 'What the hell was that?! You have got to be kidding me! Was this really just a cat? Or was it secretly a tailed beast in disguise?!'
His senbon almost slipped from his mouth, but he instinctively bit down harder to keep from losing it.
"Mrow!" Meanwhile, Takeshi stepped forward. His massive paws made no sound as he advanced toward Guy.
Guy wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had no choice now, he'd have to use the technique his father taught him. He could only open the First Gate, but...'What if he hurt Takeshi?'
Guy hesitated, still completely unaware of the difference in their power levels.
*Whoosh!*
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared. His speed exploded, nearly tripling in an instant.
"Now's our chance!" Genma sprang into action, spitting out a barrage of senbon mid-air. 'Senbon Rain!' Each one split into multiple projectiles, forming a deadly rain of needles.
Then, he jumped down from the tree and quickly charged towards Takeshi.
Ebisu didn't have any ninjutsu, so he threw a few kunai and shuriken. His aim was solid, but the power behind them was weak.
In the end, it didn't matter.
With a single sweep of its tail, Takeshi effortlessly deflected everything-senbon, kunai, shuriken... and a certain Rare Beast of Konoha.
Guy went flying.
Genma barely had time to process what happened before Takeshi was already in front of him.
His instincts screamed at him- 'Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!'
*Boom!*
The wall shattered instantly, collapsing on top of him. 'That's it. I'm done.' Genma blacked out.
Takeshi turned his head and looked at the sunglasses-wearing kid.
Ebisu's hands and feet were ice cold. He glanced at Guy, the most capable fighter and tank on the team, and found that he was rolling around on the ground, struggling to get up. Genma was down, and now only he was left...
'Is it time for me to save the team?' Ebisu felt a surge of nervous excitement at the thought. 'So the question is, how can I save the team?'
'Kunai? No, first, I would kite him. As long as Guy and Genma recovered, he would save the team! Stay calm, stay calm, Ebisu, you can do this!'
His palms were slick with sweat, and he was still strategizing in his head when he felt a paw on his shoulder-
"Young man, what are you thinking about? Tell me, meow." Takeshi purred.
'How could it be!' Ebisu stiffened, then he realized that a layer of ice covered his body, making him unable to move at all. Ice Release?
'This cat also has a Kekkei Genkai.' He was stunned for a moment, then his mouth twisted in a bitter smile. 'Sorry, everyone... I can't save the team...'
---
A few minutes later, all three of them had regained consciousness. Releasing Ebisu from Ice.
He'd already created a Water Clone, and then he just used the Flying Thunder God through a mark.
After a while, the three of them woke up and recovered.
"To be honest, meow, I'm very disappointed in you. Not a single one of you can fight. And you were complaining about this cat?!" Takeshi sat on a tree branch, looking down at them.
Ebisu's legs shook. Without hesitation, he dropped to his knees and said, "Sensei, I was wrong."
'This...'
'Did it have to be like this?' Genma's mouth twitched. He seemed carefree and indifferent to everything, but he actually had a lot of pride. 'How could he kneel to a cat...?'
"I was wrong too." Guy knelt on the ground, straightforward and direct.
Genma hesitated... but after taking a deep breath...
*Thump!* He also knelt on the ground, saying, "I was wrong. Please forgive us and train us."
"Very good, meow. Your attitudes are all very good. Get up, let's talk this over."
Takeshi was very satisfied with their attitudes. Although their strength was lacking, they admitted their mistakes quickly, just like those lazy cats. He hoped they could learn from their mistakes faster than cats.
He looked at them one by one, and finally pointed out, "Guy, your use of the Eight Gates is still not proficient enough, not systematic enough. I will focus on teaching you that. Genma, you lack a good overwhelming finishing move, understand? Ebisu, you..."
"Sensei, I want to become stronger too. Please teach me, Sensei!"
'Wow, he's already calling him Sensei.' Takeshi was a little shocked and stared at Ebisu. He was a pervert, and also dressed in black. The black cat felt a little disgusted and quickly said, "Meow~ 'Sensei is too much. I'm just teaching you temporarily. You will meet better teachers than me in the future."
'You're a good person, but we're really not a match.'
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