—Somewhere on the outskirts of Konohagakure—
The shadow of a mysterious creature moved between the trees while four ninjas hid among the shadows.
"Ino, get ready."
Yamato's distorted voice came through the communicator.
"Here I go..." Ino replied, searching for the creature with her eyes.
"Hinata, did you find anything?"
Once again, Yamato's distorted voice came through, and at the same time, the communicator let out a burst of static.
"What's going on?"
Yamato removed the communicator from his ear, which, for some reason, had stopped working.
Meanwhile, Toru was hidden in the shadows of a tree.
'Where is it? We almost caught it. It doesn't make sense for an animal that size to have so much strength and agility.'
Toru surveyed the area. There was no sign of the mysterious creature, making the search even more difficult.
"Hinata, I stopped hearing Yamato-sensei a few seconds ago. Did something happen?" Toru said, touching the communicator in his ear, to which the voice on the other end replied.
"There's interference in the signal. Someone else might be using the same channel as us," Hinata replied while holding the communicator to her ear.
"I see. What about Ino? Is she not responding either?"
"No. It seems the signal became distorted on her communicator."
On the other end of the communicator, Toru sighed. This mission had become very troublesome. Who knew catching a cat would be this much trouble?
"Then we'll have to catch it ourselves."
Hinata replied:
"I understand. We could meet up with Ino. I know where she is."
Toru answered in a tired tone.
"Then let's go."
—Ino's Location—
"What's going on? Sensei, can you hear me?"
Ino tried to communicate, but the only thing she could hear was static.
Since communication had been cut off, Ino sighed. It had only been one day, but she already felt like she was going to lose her mind at any moment.
'Damn it, how can they leave me alone? Especially that idiot Toru. He was right next to me a moment ago! And I can't even hear the sensei's orders...'
Ino sat on a tree branch and remained silent for a few seconds until she heard a noise: the hiss of a cat.
'It's him! I have to catch it.'
Ino stood up and carefully looked around. She was ready to catch the cat, but it wouldn't be that easy.
The cat pounced on Ino, attempting to use its claws as weapons, but Ino dodged, and the cat landed on another tree.
'This cat is crazy! It's way too aggressive. And how can it be so fast?!'
Ino looked at the cat fearfully. She knew that if she stood still, the feline would attack her.
"Ino!"
Hinata appeared, causing the cat to hide among the leaves of the trees again.
"We lost communication with Yamato-sensei and you, so we decided to come," Toru said, appearing on the branch of a nearby tree.
"You're late. That cat almost tore my beautiful face off," Ino said.
"It's still here? I mean the cat," Toru asked, ignoring what Ino had said before.
"Hmph! It hid among the trees, but I still can't pinpoint its exact location."
After hearing that, Toru looked at the leaves of the trees and, for a second, saw a pair of eyes glowing in the darkness.
"I found it," he said without taking his eyes off the cat.
"Really? Then what are we waiting for?" Ino replied as she tried to locate the cat with her eyes.
"Wait. I have a plan."
Stopping Ino, Toru sharpened his gaze toward the shadows of the trees.
"What do you mean? I don't think a plan coming from you will work," Ino said in an annoyed tone.
'She never changes, huh...' Toru thought.
Ino's attitude was a problem. He hoped it would change in the future.
"I think Toru's plan could work," Hinata added, joining the conversation. She had already heard Toru's plan, and although it was simple, it was very effective.
"No. You two just have to listen to what I say. That's how this works," Ino replied in an authoritative voice, causing Toru's patience to wear a little thin.
"The plan I came up with relies heavily on you. Without you, my plan won't work."
With a neutral expression, Toru looked Ino in the eyes. She was now very interested in what Toru had said.
"Oh, so you can't do anything without me, huh?" With a faint, arrogant smile, Ino agreed to use Toru's plan.
Minutes later, Toru, Hinata, and Ino were positioned strategically, each standing at a point somewhat distant from the others, forming an imaginary triangle.
The cat was inside that imaginary triangle. The purpose was to keep the cat in one place where Ino could see it, allowing her to use her secret jutsu on it.
"Let's begin."
Holding two kunai with wires attached to them, Toru watched the target.
'It's still hiding. We need to force it out of its hiding place so Ino can use the jutsu. If she can't see it, everything will fall apart.'
Toru held the kunai for a moment, and then...
'Now!'
He threw both kunai near the tree where the cat was hiding. Then he jumped, and an instant later, he appeared in that area. He had used the tension in the wires to propel himself forward and reach the area faster.
"You won't escape!"
Toru tried to reach the cat, but it was more agile and flexible, allowing it to escape easily. However, that wasn't a problem, since Toru had anticipated it.
"Hinata!"
As the cat tried to escape by jumping between the trees, Hinata appeared in front of it, causing the cat to change its course. Now it was running straight into the trap.
From a bush, Ino watched everything that was happening, her hands forming the strange hand seal as she aimed at the cat.
'Got you!'
"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"
A sound resembling a wolf's howl echoed inside Ino's mind. Then she fell unconscious, and the cat came to a sudden stop, collapsing onto the tall grass.
This was the Yamanaka family's jutsu, capable of transferring the user's mind into another person. Thanks to this, Ino was able to control the cat.
"Here I go!"
Using a blanket, Hinata wrapped the cat so it couldn't escape. Seconds later, Ino returned to her body.
"We did it!"
Hugging Hinata, Ino celebrated their victory. After all, she had been an important part of the entire plan.
Meanwhile, Toru watched from the tree where he had attempted to catch the cat.
'She's good when she puts her mind to it.'