"I must apologize, my lord. We've managed to clone more Byakugan samples, but the full-body cloning experiments are still under verification," said Professor Ichikawa, standing behind Naruto with data files in hand, not daring to lift his head.
His voice was cautious and subdued. "The problem is, each time we attempt to cultivate a full clone, uncontrollable mutations occur at the initial stage. Also, we need a large number of live subjects to gather sufficient data… If only you could provide the data from your previous breakthrough—"
Naruto's tone was calm and indifferent.
"That data isn't something I can give you right now."
"You'll have to figure out the technical side yourselves. But don't worry—soon I'll assign you a professional assistant."
"That would be a great help!"
Professor Ichikawa was visibly relieved—until his expression stiffened again.
"There's another issue… Her Majesty the Queen has only authorized us to use death row convicts as live test subjects. We're not allowed to acquire more freely…"
"Is that so?" Naruto chuckled. "What a benevolent queen."
"My lord! Her Majesty isn't intentionally obstructing your research needs! She's only—only—"
Professor Ichikawa immediately dropped to his knees, face pale, sweat dripping like rain from his forehead. The other researchers in the lab paused, stunned and nervous.
Naruto turned back with a neutral look.
"I merely complimented her. Why so tense?"
He added casually, "As for test subjects, I might have a solution for you."
Ichikawa gulped hard, voice trembling.
"May I ask what you have in mind?"
Naruto helped him to his feet with a faint smile.
"Recruit them openly. Offer a price no one can refuse. Make them line up to become your experiments—willingly. Isn't that much simpler?"
The Next Morning – Konoha, Nanga River Area
Sunlight filtered through a small grove. Sasuke sat motionless atop one of the stone pillars where he used to practice shuriken throws. After a moment, he glanced at the position of the sun.
"Half an hour till the meeting time Kakashi set... Looks like another day wasted."
With that thought, he vanished in a blur.
About ten minutes later, he arrived outside the mission hall—where Naruto and Sakura were already waiting. Kakashi, however, was nowhere in sight.
That surprised him a little.
"Sasuke-kun! You're here!"
Sakura lit up instantly and ran to him.
Sasuke gave her a slight nod, then walked up to Naruto.
"Where's Kakashi?"
Before Naruto could answer, Sakura eagerly chimed in with a smile,
"Kakashi-sensei said we're to handle today's mission on our own. Once we're done, we can just go home—no training session today."
However, in the corner of her mind, her inner self was violently pounding away at sandbags labeled Naruto and Kakashi.
This morning had not been kind.
She'd shown up over an hour early, hoping to see Sasuke first. But instead, Kakashi was the second to arrive, followed shortly by Naruto. Neither of them said much beyond a quick hello, and then went completely silent.
That wasn't even the worst part. Once the mission hall's coordinator arrived, Kakashi accepted the mission, tossed the request scroll at her, and casually told them to handle it themselves. Then he disappeared.
Sakura had wanted to vent to Naruto, but he was leaning against the wall, staring at a scroll in his hands, completely ignoring her. With no one to talk to, she could only quietly accept the scroll and wait alone for Sasuke.
She didn't expect him to show up this late.
"No training?"
Sasuke ignored Sakura and turned to Naruto, frowning.
"What's the mission?"
Naruto didn't look up.
"No idea. The scroll's not with me."
"Sasuke-kun, I have the request right here!"
Sakura rushed to hand it over.
Sasuke accepted it without much expression—but the moment he read it, his face changed.
Naruto noticed the shift but said nothing. Sakura leaned in.
"What is it, Sasuke-kun? Something wrong? It says here we're to retrieve the pawprint of the Nekomata from Cat Castle... What kind of weird mission is that?"
"Nekomata's pawprint?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly. He remembered this mission—it came from a recluse known as Granny Cat who lived in the ruins outside Konoha. That pawprint eventually became the subject of a book.
In fact, from the mirrored world and through the memories of Sasuke and Itachi, Naruto knew this specific pawprint had once been collected by Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi together, back when they were children.
Could this mission have been…
Just as he was thinking about it—
"I'm doing this one alone."
Sasuke's voice cut through coldly.
"Eh? Why?"
Sakura looked shocked.
Naruto didn't speak, but the amusement in his eyes was obvious.
Sasuke's tone was low and heavy.
"Because this was always my mission."
Naruto stepped in calmly, taking the scroll from Sasuke.
"I object."
"The request clearly says this mission is assigned to Team 7—since when did it become a solo Uchiha mission?"
"You—"
Sasuke's eyes turned dark. Seeing Naruto's smirking expression only deepened his scowl.
"Fine. Let's go."
He turned on his heel and walked off. Sakura hurried to catch up. After the two were gone, Naruto lazily tucked the scroll away and followed at his own pace.
No sooner had he taken a few steps than Kurama's voice rang out in the seal.
"Naruto, what's this mission about? Why did the Uchiha brat get so worked up?"
"You mean you don't know, Kurama? That's rare."
Naruto was about to respond when Isobu jumped in, clearly surprised.
"Yeah, aren't you always fighting Uchiha Itachi in the mirrored world? Didn't you look through his memories?"
Matatabi's tone was equally curious.
Kurama huffed.
"Of course I saw his memories! But that guy had so much irrelevant crap in his head—I skipped a lot of it, okay?"
Isobu and Matatabi exchanged glances, both smirking slightly.
"Hmph! You two—real funny."
Kurama's tail twitched. His crimson eyes flared dangerously.
"This mission might have been issued by Uchiha Itachi himself."
Naruto's consciousness entered the seal. He smiled at Isobu and Matatabi, then walked up to Kurama and raised his fist.
"Sasuke's been a genin for a while now. It's about time big brother Itachi showed some love."
Kurama glanced sideways at the other two, then reluctantly bumped fists.
"Lame."
Matatabi's eyes sparkled.
"Naruto, you think Sasuke's figured that out yet?"
Isobu rumbled in agreement.
"Doubt it. I've seen all his memories. Even though he's starting to question the truth behind the Uchiha massacre, he's still dead set on killing Itachi."
Naruto chuckled.
"We'll know for sure after the mirrored world finishes updating tonight."
An hour later, Naruto met up with Sasuke and Sakura inside the ruins. A cat that looked like a tiny tiger accepted two bottles of catnip soda from Sasuke, then led them through the corridor to meet Granny Cat.
"Granny Cat, I need to speak with you privately."
Sasuke made his request the moment he saw her.
"Oh~ no problem, dear. But first, have a look at this Pawprint Encyclopedia. The photo of your mission target is on the last page. Just one more to complete the whole set!"
Smiling warmly, Granny Cat handed him a thick book.
Sasuke looked annoyed. After taking it, he glanced at Sakura, who was busy playing with the cats. Then he turned and handed the book straight to Naruto.
Naruto smiled and began flipping through it—but stopped on the very first page.
His brows lifted.
In the corner of the very first pawprint was a photo of Yugito Nii from the Hidden Cloud.
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