After eating their fill, Uchiha Yoru followed Miwa Masayo's request and took her on a trip to the Inuzuka clan compound.
The tabby cat listened to the weak, miserable howls of the dogs. She saw soapy wastewater spilling out from the Inuzuka courtyard. Seeing those detestable dogs in a worse state than herself—
Her mood instantly brightened.
"Hahaha, stupid dogs! This time you really stink!"
Covering her nose with her paw, she shouted loudly over the wall, her voice carrying clearly into the compound.
"Kuromaru! You still alive? Didn't last night's stench kill you, huh?!"
A weak voice came from inside.
"Stupid cat… if you're still alive, how could I die?"
"Hehe, meow~ I'm not smelly at all now, meow~ I smell nice and clean. What about you? Hm? What about you?"
"You filthy dog, how dare you call me smelly?"
"Woof… damn cat… your body may not stink, but your heart does!"
"You stole my meat, you thieving cat!"
"Hey now, that was years ago. You're still holding a grudge? How petty."
"And besides, my human already paid compensation to your master. We settled that long ago."
"Woof! Don't think I don't know—when the meat went missing again that night, it was you!"
"Meow?! You stupid dog! Don't make accusations without evidence!"
"It was you! Every dog in the Inuzuka clan smelled you!"
"…!"
The commotion finally drew someone out.
Inuzuka Tsume stepped out of the courtyard. Seeing the utterly innocent-looking Uchiha Yoru, she could only sigh and shake her head.
Cats and dogs had always been natural enemies.
Even among ninja animals, that hadn't changed.
If anything, being able to talk only made their arguments worse.
It proved one thing—
The conflict had nothing to do with misunderstandings.
They simply couldn't stand each other.
By now, Miwa Masayo had fully gotten into it. She leapt down from Yoru's shoulder, stretched lazily, rolled her neck, and squared up—
Then launched into a full-blown shouting match with the ninja dogs.
After three years by Uchiha Yoru's side, she had picked up all sorts of strange knowledge.
Especially when it came to arguing.
Her vocabulary was vast, her insults creative, and her use of odd idioms… devastating.
A single ninja cat—
Against an entire courtyard of ninja dogs—
And she crushed them completely.
In the end, the dogs were so furious they couldn't even argue back, reduced to barking wildly just to vent their frustration.
Inuzuka Tsume tilted her head and glanced at Uchiha Yoru, her eyes clearly asking:
What exactly have you been teaching that cat?
Yoru shrugged innocently, silently replying:
Not me. Wasn't me. I have no idea.
The two of them were the same age and had been classmates at the Ninja Academy.
Back then, their relationship had been ordinary.
Mostly because Uchiha Yoru had always ranked first—distant, aloof, and uninterested in others.
At the time, early graduation had become a trend.
But as the undisputed top student, Yoru refused to graduate early, single-handedly preventing the entire class from following that trend.
Inuzuka Tsume had been one of the many who resented him for it.
But two years after graduation—
Everything changed.
Those who had rushed to graduate early had been swept into the final stages of war.
Their casualties weren't just heavy—
They were total.
And so, the surviving classmates gradually realized something.
Yoru's stubborn refusal had saved their lives.
Combined with the fact that he had since become polite, warm, and genuinely helpful—almost like a completely different person—
Everyone, except last year's graduate Obito Uchiha, came to like him.
Naturally, Yoru and Tsume grew closer as well.
Though their ninja companions remained mortal enemies.
Fortunately, their conflicts never went beyond shouting matches.
Even when utterly defeated, neither side resorted to violence.
They would simply retreat, recover, and come back for revenge another day.
So while their summons argued, the two shinobi crouched by the wall and quietly exchanged information about last night's incident.
"Still no clues at all?"
"None," Tsume replied, her voice muffled. "The whole village smells the same. And it's so strong—even the Aburame clan and I suffered badly."
She pointed at her swollen, reddened nose.
"Look at this. It's so swollen I can barely smell anything."
"…That serious? What if your sense of smell doesn't recover?"
"It'll be fine. The medic said it'll recover in a few days. Kuromaru and the others are worse—might take a month."
"…We need to find a way to deal with attacks like this. If something like this happens on the battlefield, it'll be a disaster."
"You're right. My clan's already working on it."
"…."
By the time Miwa Masayo finished utterly defeating Kuromaru in their argument, the two shinobi had also finished their discussion.
On the way home, the tabby lay on Yoru's shoulder, whispering into his ear.
"Did you find anything, meow? Any discoveries in the village?"
"They found one clue," Yoru replied. "They detected traces of natural energy."
"Meow? They can detect that?"
"…Yeah. I didn't expect it either. Even with Jiraiya not in the village, they still figured it out."
"Is it dangerous, meow?"
"No. Not this time."
"But from now on… I'll have to be careful using natural energy. I can't let anyone notice."
He clicked his tongue.
"One moment of recklessness… and now my strongest method is exposed. That's a big loss."
After a while, Miwa Masayo spoke hesitantly.
"Yoru… I… I can use natural energy too. Will that be a problem, meow?"
"…What?"
…
In the small training yard at his home, Uchiha Yoru carefully observed the fireball and wind sphere the tabby had condensed.
Then he let out a long breath.
"So?"
"Relax," he said with a smile. "That's senjutsu chakra—not pure natural energy."
"Meow?"
"Congratulations, Miwa Masayo. You've successfully mastered senjutsu. You're now a sage."
"Not the first, meow! The cat sage from the Cat Castle was first. I'm second."
"How did it learn?"
"I don't know, meow. Even it doesn't know. So no one else could learn from it."
"…Then what about you? How did you learn it?"
"On the day you said you became 'immortal'… I was sleeping in your arms… and when I woke up, I could do it, meow."
"…So you don't know either."
"Nope. But that's fine. You'll figure it out."
"…Huh?"
"You're smart. If you don't know now, you'll know later."
"So it all comes down to me, huh?"
"Of course, meow! That's your honor as my human!"
"Haha… I'll handle it. But—"
"Meow! Don't touch my ears!"
At that moment—
Knock. Knock.
A firm, steady, decisive knock echoed from the front gate.
Whoever it was—
Strong.
Calm.
Efficient.
Uchiha Yoru moved instantly, appearing at the gate and pulling it open.
Standing there—
Was a familiar figure.
"Captain Uchiha Yashiro?"
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