Walking through the desolate city, Habara heard only the lonely echo of their footsteps and the eerie howl of the wind whistling through skeletal high-rises.
This clearly hadn't been built by ninja cats; only humans erected such towering complexes. It must have been a human settlement once, destroyed by the flames of war in some forgotten year. Whether the original inhabitants migrated or were wiped out, their disappearance had allowed this place to become a hidden refuge for the ninja cats.
Following Shisui's lead, they soon reached the city's depths and slipped into one of the dilapidated buildings.
As they navigated a long, gloomy corridor, Habara suddenly remarked, "Are the cats around here... a bit mischievous?"
"Sometimes," Shisui started, "they aren't too fond of strangers—"
Before Shisui could finish, six blurs shot towards Habara from different directions. Six ninja cats launched a coordinated ambush. No wonder Habara had sensed mischief.
The ninja cats were incredibly agile, but they were attacking head-on. As they closed in, tendrils of Iron Sand erupted from behind Habara, instantly ensnaring them. The next moment, the six cats were bound tightly together, trussed up unceremoniously.
"I don't necessarily dislike furry creatures," Habara stated coolly, turning to face the bundle of cats. "Whether they're living... or dead." As he spoke, the Iron Sand began to creep across their fur, threatening to encase them. Soon, they'd be nothing more than lifelike, metal-coated statues.
"A joke! We were just joking!" "We surrender! We surrender!"
Under the imminent threat of suffocation, the ninja cats erupted in panicked cries. It seemed Habara, a self-proclaimed advocate for small animal welfare, had a particular knack for dealing with misbehaving critters.
These cats were clearly intelligent; Habara had no real intention of harming them. Once they yielded, he retracted the Iron Sand, freeing them.
Once free, the cats eyed Habara warily. One hissed, "Insolent human! Whatever you've come for, expect the price to go up!"
Habara just smirked, saying nothing. He simply raised his hand again, letting a menacing amount of Iron Sand swirl around his palm.
Fear flared in their eyes, fur bristled, and they bolted. The entire pack vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving Shisui, who had opened his mouth to mediate, utterly speechless.
Proceeding further, they entered a large room. There, practically buried beneath a mountain of cats, sat an old woman. Nekobaa, Habara guessed – the legendary Cat Granny, master of the ninja cats.
"Welcome... Oh, it's you, Shisui," Nekobaa rasped, her voice muffled by fur. Recognizing him was expected; given her close ties to the Uchiha, she would naturally know the clan's young prodigy.
"Nekobaa, it's been a while," Shisui greeted respectfully. "We're here about the matter I mentioned the other day." Clearly, he had made prior arrangements.
"Ah, the request to hire someone to raise ninja cats for Konoha?" Nekobaa confirmed, her sharp eyes shifting from Shisui to scrutinize Habara.
"Yes," Shisui affirmed. "However, Konoha needs them for communication and transport, not combat. They won't be placed in any danger."
"Perhaps," Nekobaa hedged, still eyeing Habara thoughtfully, "but this old woman prefers not to get too entangled with major villages like Konoha. And my granddaughter... she's still far too young for such responsibility."
"Konoha guarantees the position involves no danger," Habara cut in bluntly, getting straight to the point. "And they're offering a monthly salary of two hundred thousand Ryo."
Most people wouldn't refuse that kind of money, Habara thought wryly. Unless they're one of those types who genuinely don't need it.
Nekobaa stroked a nearby cat. "If you'd accept having a ninja cat do the raising... I have a rather restless young one here who might be willing."
Habara blinked. A cat raising cats? That's... novel. He considered it briefly. "If she can reliably fulfill the duties, then that's acceptable." Since the cats wouldn't see combat, the standards weren't impossibly high.
"Shinso, come," Nekobaa called. "We need to dissolve our contract first."
A sleek white cat disentangled herself from the furry heap. As she padded towards Nekobaa, her form grew, expanding until she was the size of a large dog. Then, with a soft shimmer, she transformed, solidifying into the shape of a human girl around thirteen or fourteen, already clad in simple clothes.
Once Nekobaa completed the formal release of their contract, the ninja cat—Shinso—turned to face Habara.
"Two hundred thousand Ryo?" she asked, her voice surprisingly clear.
"Two hundred thousand Ryo," Habara confirmed.
"Deal," Shinso said briskly.
"You're female?" Habara double-checked.
"Obviously," she replied, rolling her eyes slightly.
"Excellent. Deal," Habara confirmed again, satisfied.
Their points of interest clearly differed, but they reached an agreement instantly.
Despite the slight deviation from the original plan, Konoha's generous offer allowed Habara to secure a "cat breeder"—albeit a feline one—with surprising speed. Less than fifteen minutes after arriving, their objective was met, and they departed from Nekobaa's den.
The ninja cats who'd hoped to extort Habara were left disappointed. Not that Habara would have cared much even if they had managed to inflate the price – it was Konoha's money, after all. No skin off his back.
As Habara stepped back out into the open air of the abandoned city, he was about to take a deep breath when a faint crackling, like radio static, reached his ears. The sound emanated from his headband, specially modified to receive long-distance signals from Daigo. The reception here, amidst the dense ruins, was clearly poor.
Trouble? Habara glanced around, spotted the tallest surviving skyscraper nearby, and scaled it with practiced speed. Clear of the obstructing buildings below, the signal came through, weak but intelligible.
"Daigo? Can you hear me?" Habara spoke into the receiver. "What's happened?" Daigo wouldn't contact him like this unless something was wrong.
"Habara," Daigo's voice crackled through, strained but urgent. "If you're in the northern Land of Fire, proceed immediately to the Land of Hot Water! Konoha shinobi there require emergency backup!"
"...Understood." Briefly orienting himself, Habara launched himself from the rooftop, speeding towards the Land of Hot Water.
The implication was clear. For Daigo to receive and relay this distress call, the shinobi in trouble had to be part of the "Integrated Information Thought Entity and Chakra Infinite Library Trial Operation Plan."