One day, in the morning, outside Konoha Village, in a forest not very far away.
The blazing sun poured down upon the earth.
Filtering through layers of lush green shade.
It filled the forest with a warm and tranquil atmosphere.
And within this forest.
At this very moment.
There were four figures scattered across different positions.
Among them.
Three figures.
Using a certain location as the center point, spread out into three directions, forming a circular encirclement as they slowly closed in.
"Number one is already in position."
"Number two is also in position."
"Number three has reached the designated location. The mission target has appeared. Do we proceed with capture?"
"Can you confirm the target?"
"Yes! It has been confirmed. It is the mission objective!"
"What is the distance to the target?"
"Less than five meters. We can act at any time!"
"Very good! Then follow the established plan. Scatter and encircle, then directly capture the target! Be careful not to let the target escape, and also be careful not to injure it! Ensure the absolute safety of the target!"
"Yes!"
"Then—move!"
"Yes!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Within the dense forest.
A sudden gust of wind erupted.
Three silhouettes shot out at high speed. At the center of their converging attack, a plump tiger-striped cat that had been lazily resting against the trunk of a tree squinted its eyes, but at the instant the three figures closed in, it abruptly startled awake.
"Meow—meow—meow!?"
Its eyes snapped open.
And reflected within them were three rapidly approaching figures.
The fat cat immediately let out a sharp, highly threatening cry. Just as it attempted to flee from the scene, it realized it was already too late. In less than a second, a blue figure intercepted its path head-on. With its only escape route blocked, the tiger-striped fat cat displayed an unmistakably anthropomorphic expression of terror on its face.
Its fur instantly bristled.
And it tried to turn around and flee in another direction.
"Whoosh!"
With impeccable timing.
Another golden figure appeared, intercepting the fat cat from the angle of its attempted retreat. Leaning forward slightly, both hands reached out without hesitation and effortlessly scooped the fat cat into his arms.
"Mission complete! The target has been successfully captured!"
At that moment.
The other two figures landed nearby almost simultaneously.
These three figures were none other than the members who had passed Hatake Kakashi's final assessment just a few days earlier and had officially become Konoha's Seventh Team—Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura.
The tiger-striped fat cat now struggling wildly in Naruto's arms was today's mission target for Team Seven.
And this tiger-striped fat cat, whose "tragic fate" was familiar to almost everyone who knew the original story, could even be said to possess a legendary life experience. No—rather than life, it was a cat's adventure story, and a rather grand one at that. Naruto and the others were not the first ninja to capture it, and this time would definitely not be the last.
Looking at the fat tiger-striped cat desperately trying to escape his grip, Naruto could not help but think of the cat's owner—the wife of a high-ranking noble of the Land of Fire. That terrifying existence comparable to a "human beast"—Madam Shijimi. Just thinking about her made Naruto shiver subconsciously. He glanced again at the tiger-striped fat cat in his arms, and a trace of sympathy surfaced in his eyes.
Sympathy aside.
This was still a mission.
And besides, Naruto was counting on the reward from this task.
No matter the reason.
It was absolutely impossible for Naruto to let go of the poor fat cat in his arms.
"Well, the tiger stripes on its body match, and the red ribbon is also present. That's right. We can be one hundred percent sure it's this fat cat."
Sakura stepped closer and carefully checked the details of the tiger-striped fat cat in Naruto's arms. After confirming everything, she nodded in satisfaction and spoke.
Sasuke maintained his usual cool demeanor and remained silent.
"Good. Since it's confirmed to be the mission target, let's return to the village and report in. The client must be anxious as well."
Hatake Kakashi, who had leisurely walked over from not far away, glanced at the fat cat in Naruto's arms and spoke in his usual lazy tone.
And just as Kakashi's words fell.
Naruto could clearly feel the fat cat struggling even more violently in his arms. Its frantic movements became visibly more intense, and the fear in its eyes became even more human-like. Naruto was momentarily stunned, then shook his head with a helpless smile.
"It's really a pitiful little cat."
Thinking this, Naruto tightened his grip slightly. On the premise of not harming the cat, he restrained it more firmly. After all, this was his mission reward—there was no way he would let it slip away so easily!
You had to know, Naruto was now desperately eager to save more money.
Money to improve his meals.
Money to finally replace the worn-out clothes he was wearing.
In the past, not only was Naruto limited by the lack of money, but there were also very few shops in Konoha willing to serve him at all.
He simply had no way to change his clothes.
But now, things were different.
After graduating from the Ninja Academy and officially becoming a genin, Naruto could now walk the streets of Konoha. Although there were still villagers who looked at him with strange gazes, and whispers such as why the Hokage allowed the demon fox to become a ninja still existed, on the surface, no ordinary resident dared to bully Naruto as blatantly as they had when he was a child. At the very least, they had to show a degree of superficial respect.
The reason was simple.
Naruto was now a ninja.
And this era belonged to ninjas.
Being a ninja was not merely a status—it was a symbol of strength.
Naturally, the ordinary villagers of Konoha no longer dared to treat Naruto with the same attitudes as before. (In the original work, the villagers' attitudes toward Naruto could roughly be divided into four stages: first, when Naruto became a ninja; second, when Naruto shone brightly during the Chūnin Exams; third, when Naruto brought Jiraiya back and persuaded Tsunade to become the Fifth Hokage; and fourth, when Naruto defeated Nagato and became the savior of Konoha in the eyes of the masses. Only then was Naruto truly recognized by all of Konoha and laid the foundation for his future as Hokage. These developments are all shown in the manga.)
The Naruto of the original story might have cared deeply about such things.
But the Naruto of this life did not care at all.
Still, the fact remained that with his identity as a ninja, he was no longer openly rejected when buying supplies, and things had become far more convenient.
And Naruto, who had long wanted to replace the turtle-shell-like clothes on his body.
Naturally needed to earn more mission rewards.
Fortunately, as long as he accumulated enough funds, he would eventually be able to customize the equipment he truly wanted.
So, even though he felt sympathy for this fat cat.
For the sake of his own "fund-raising plan"!
Naruto would absolutely never allow this little cat to escape.
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