It took roughly three hours; before noon even arrived, the mission was complete, though it wasn't considered perfect.
Inside an extra-large metal cage, nineteen adult cats of various colors were stuffed. The ratio of males to females was about equal. It seemed these intelligent 'hajimis' were much like humans; the desire to wander aimlessly outside apparently didn't discriminate between genders.
Higashino Shin and Gekkō Hayate were both unscathed, while only Yūgao Uzuki had quite a few scratch marks on her hands and face. Fortunately, Ninja Cats aren't wild cats; they know how to hold back.
Although her strength wasn't quite up to that of her two teammates, she wasn't bad either. One could only say that those little things with Chakra were truly capable of causing a ruckus.
Green Chakra emanated from Higashino Shin's hands. As Yūgao Uzuki experienced the benefits of having a Medical Ninja in the team, she asked curiously, "Teacher, is it really okay that we only caught nineteen? The Village won't judge our mission as a failure, will it? I don't want my very first mission as a Ninja to be a failure."
Gekko Yun Jian didn't answer her directly but looked at Higashino Shin instead. "Shin, are you sure you've searched every place in Konoha Village where cats might be?"
"Yes, Teacher, I'm sure. Actually, we finished in less than two hours. The remaining time was entirely spent confirming whether any pet cats in the residents' homes had been missed."
Gekko Yun Jian nodded. "Then it's fine. The mission requirement was to capture all members of the Ninja Cat clan within Konoha Village who aren't under contract with a Ninja. No one can guarantee they are all in Konoha."
"You have to remember they are Ninja Cats; they're very fast. There are other towns and Villages around Konoha. Those remaining little fellows might have wandered off elsewhere."
Since the Jonin leader put it that way, what else could the three say? You're the boss, what you say goes.
Actually, it was understandable. The real world isn't a game; mission targets don't just stay in one spot waiting for you to catch them. Ordinary cats are already famous street-wanderers, let alone these troublesome Ninja Cats whose intelligence is no different from humans.
Just look at how these bastards were behaving.
If Team Three were a stray cat shelter from his previous life and they were catching ordinary cats, the only thing those cats could do would be to hiss like grumpy old men.
Unfortunately, this was the Ninja World, and the cage was full of Ninja Cats.
As Higashino Shin and Gekkō Hayate carried the cage between them to the mission office to turn it in, the little guys inside were all staring intensely at the four of them with resentful, displeased eyes.
It was as if they were saying this wasn't over, and once they got out, they would definitely scratch their faces off.
The Ninja World truly was a wondrous place.
What does it feel like when a group of intelligent 'hajimis' looks at you with human-like eyes?
Higashino Shin thought, 'This is so weird. Are these guys really not monsters?'
Most importantly, a few of them could actually speak human language.
A black 'hajimi' near Higashino Shin kept chattering incessantly: "Damnable human, meow! Unforgivable! You interrupted my date, you bastard! I was just about to mount that beautiful little cutie. It's all because of you, all because of you! I'm so angry! My love... ended before it even began!"
After speaking, it even extended its sharp claws, trying to leave a few bloody gashes on the back of Higashino Shin's hand.
"Shut up. You call that love? You're just lusting after her body! You're despicable!"
"I am lusting after her body, is there a problem with that?"
It was the first time Higashino Shin had seen a cat be so shameless. "I say, you're Ninja Cats after all. Don't you look at those ordinary cats the same way we humans look at monkeys? You can actually bring yourself to do that?"
"That's completely different. We look the same, we have the same aesthetics, and there's no reproductive isolation. But can you have little monkeys with a female monkey?"
"Eh? Ehhh? That makes sense! You're actually damn well-educated."
"Right, right? It makes sense, doesn't it? Then hurry up and let me out."
"You're dreaming."
"Bastard!"
"One more word and I'll have you neutered. That goes for all of you. Anyone who objects, I'll send you straight to the hospital. I'll even pay for the surgery!"
These words were like a Tailed Beast Ball exploding in their hearts; every Ninja Cat was instantly terrified into silence.
Gekkō Hayate and Yūgao Uzuki: 'Note taken, note taken. Use this trick to deal with Ninja Cats in the future; it's incredibly effective.'
---
A wondrous world.
There weren't just Ninja Cats with human-like thinking, but also smart dogs, and talking toads, snakes, slugs, lizards, and so on.
Unfortunately, cats and dogs—the most suitable animals to be pets—weren't very willing to be pets once they gained intelligence.
They considered themselves equals to humans. Want to fight together? Sign a contract first.
Ninja Hounds basically all come from Konoha's Inuzuka clan. They consider Ninja Hounds to be combat partners. If you dare treat them like pets, those dogs really will go back to their families to complain.
Then you can look forward to being hunted down by a pack of humans and dogs.
The Ninja Cat clan was even more ridiculous. They were independent and incredibly prideful, all living carefree lives in the Abandoned District. They were indifferent to everyone; only those equally prideful fellows from the Uchiha clan could tolerate them.
What a pity.
Higashino Shin shook his head inwardly.
These guys were intelligent and could speak after training, but unfortunately, they couldn't transform.
Otherwise, one might get to see the legendary Cat-girls or Dog-girls.
A Furry-con's delight.
Of course, he, Higashino Shin, was a proper Ninja and naturally wasn't a so-called Furry-con. Don't misunderstand; he was just curious, having never seen much of the world and wanting to broaden his horizons.
In fact, Higashino Shin naturally knew where there were humanoid Ninja Beasts.
They were all inside Ryūchi Cave. There were four of them; aside from that old woman, the remaining Three Great Snake Princesses were all great beauties with very 'moist' looks.
Unfortunately, Higashino Shin had no interest. The thought of the other party suddenly revealing their true form during 'deep communication' made him fear he might become impotent for life.
There are snake demons in this world, but alas, he was no Xu Xian.
Walking at the back, Yūgao Uzuki saw Higashino Shin glancing at the Ninja Cats in the cage from time to time. For some reason, her warning radar suddenly activated. "Brother Shin, I feel like you're thinking about something bad."
"Huh?" Higashino Shin was stunned for a moment and immediately retorted, "How is that possible? What bad things could I be thinking?"
"Really? I don't believe you!"
"It's true, of course. I just think the Ninja Cats are quite cute. If they could transform into human form while keeping their ears and tails, don't you think they'd be even cuter?"
The Gekko father and son looked at each other, and an image suddenly formed in their minds: 'That actually seems worth seeing. As expected of a Genius like Shin, even his thoughts are so avant-garde?'
The male cats were bewildered.
Yūgao Uzuki and the female cats: "Pervert!"
---
Ultimately, the mission was completed, and Team Three's first d-rank mission didn't end in failure.
The staff at the mission assignment office didn't say anything. Perhaps they had long expected this situation, or perhaps the request from the Abandoned District didn't actually require catching every single cat.
Next, the three completed three other commissions, finishing their mission quota for the day.
Gekko Yun Jian was right; he had specifically selected the missions. Today was a test of their intelligence gathering and tracking abilities.
Of course, Higashino Shin's perception was also taken into account.
On the second day, the four missions were all the same: repairing four small-to-medium training grounds within the Village. This included leveling the ground, cutting and hauling away dead branches, and replacing the thick tree trunks used for punch practice, as well as binding them with fresh thick hemp rope.
The most troublesome part was updating the wooden targets scattered throughout the woods and clearing away abandoned traps to recycle wire and hidden weapons.
The requirement was no jumping; they could only walk on the trees. This was clearly a test of the team's Chakra control. Fortunately, for the three who had long since begun training, it wasn't difficult.
On the third day, there were again four identical missions: cleaning up trash in four sections of the rivers within Konoha's borders. Each section was a fixed length and counted as one d-rank mission.
This was also to train Chakra control, requiring them to walk on water.
Gekko Yun Jian's selection of missions was very targeted. Or rather, Konoha issued these tasks that could train basic Ninja skills as d-rank missions intentionally, so that Genin could complete simple work while also getting training, earning money along the way, and improving Konoha's environment.
Multiple benefits with one stroke; it was simply perfect.
As for why a certain someone didn't instruct Naruto and the other two in these basic skills later when leading Team Seven, one can only say that someone was lazy, spending all day reading his trashy erotic novels.
I won't say who was being lazy!