"Takeshi, Tsunade-sama didn't mean it like that."
"Meow." Takeshi quickly finished his fish and gave a gentle nod. He'd been listening long enough to know what she was really after. He just wanted an excuse to steal her food. After sleeping all day, his stomach was practically empty.
Tsunade reached for a bowl to scoop some food for Takeshi, but paused. The black cat's paws, skillfully transformed, were already using chopsticks to pick morsels from the pot. His movements were a little clumsy, but he was managing to pluck out pieces of fish and vegetables.
'You're surprisingly easy to take care of,' she mused. 'He's just a little mischievous, that's all,' she amended silently.
Then again, all ninja cats were mischievous. Even that fat, two-tailed cat Nekomata was a handful, though he was a bit more manageable than Takeshi, if only because he was fundamentally lazy, too lazy to move, too lazy to resist, and too lazy to cause much trouble.
"He really is easy to take care of," Rin said with a sweet smile. "Honestly, my parents and I have barely had to do anything. It feels more like Takeshi is the one taking care of us."
A short distance away, Obito and Kakashi were huddled over their own pot, eating while sneaking glances in their direction.
Kakashi shot him an unimpressed look. "If you want to go over there, just go."
"No, no, who wants to go over!" A deep blush crept up Obito's neck, and he seemed to deflate, slumping back in his seat. Tsunade was intimidating enough on her own, but with that black cat there too? He wouldn't dare. If he tried to make small talk, he'd probably say something stupid and get sent flying.
"Frustration is a part of youth! As long as you don't give up, you will succeed someday!" Might Guy immediately launched into one of his motivational speeches.
"Really?" Obito paused, looking from Guy to Kakashi. He'd learned his lesson, at least. Compared to Guy, Kakashi was clearly the more reliable person to ask.
"Mm," Kakashi nodded lightly.
Obito brightened, completely missing the part Kakashi left unsaid. 'Once you're stronger, you might be able to stand in front of Takeshi without getting knocked out instantly. That should give you enough time to say one sentence.' But Obito would have to work hard for that, because the cat was getting stronger, too.
The thought made Kakashi wince. He remembered when the Third Hokage had asked him to test Takeshi's potential. If he had to do that now, he'd be flattened in a second.
So much had changed in just one year. The way things were going, unless Obito had some kind of sudden power surge, he would never catch up to that cat. Kakashi could only wish him good luck.
Genma and Ebisu were trying to enjoy their own hot pot in peace, but it was difficult to ignore Guy. He had concocted an extra-rich, extra-spicy dipping sauce, and the pungent fumes drifted all the way to their table. It was horrifying. Trying not to breathe it in, the two of them unconsciously shuffled a little farther away.
--**--**
While the Konoha shinobi enjoyed their meal, things in Sunagakure wasn't doing well.
Already under pressure from the Daimyo, the recent defeat, and the massive reparations that came with it, had left Rasa with no choice but to find ways to cut costs and generate new income. He was currently at the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.
Rasa returned to his camp. Releasing Ebizo could wait, his first priority was to arrange a meeting with Onoki. The news of Sunagakure's surrender wouldn't stay quiet for long, and he needed to act before it spread.
This kind of information had a short shelf life. If Onoki learned that Suna had already surrendered, he would have no reason to buy intelligence from them. Iwagakure would be too busy considering its own surrender to pay for secrets.
A moment later, a figure approached slowly from the distance.
Onoki had come himself. "Rasa. You said you had important intelligence. What is it?"
"One piece of intelligence is about Konoha's Black Cat, and another is related to Tsunade." Rasa's expression was serious.
Onoki seemed dismissive at first, but the mention of the black cat and Tsunade immediately sharpened his focus. Tsunade was one thing, her reputation preceded her across the shinobi world. He had expected her to join the war once the eastern border was settled, but he hadn't anticipated her arriving so soon. It left them no time to prepare. After a moment, Onoki asked, "Does Suna need assistance?"
He knew that if Suna fell, Iwa would be next, facing pressure from two fronts. The last thing he wanted was for Rasa to surrender. Of course, Onoki was still under the impression that Suna was fighting. If he knew Rasa had surrendered almost instantly, he'd be throwing a punch, not offering words of support.
Rasa felt a flicker of relief, but his expression remained grim. He simply shook his head. "For now, Sunagakure can still manage. But in the process, I uncovered a crucial piece of intelligence."
"Speak," Onoki said, his head beginning to ache. "You'll be compensated."
These Suna shinobi always played their cards close to their chest. They spoke of sharing information, but when it came to anything vital, they held back until a price was named. And now Rasa was here, specifically to sell him something. If he wasn't so worried that Suna's weak economy would make them fold under Konoha's pressure, he would have punched Rasa by now. 'What a joke.'
"Tsunade has hemophobia," Rasa stated calmly.
"What?" Onoki's voice jumped several octaves. His face was a mixture of astonishment, disbelief, and a clear 'you have to be kidding me' expression.
"She has hemophobia," Rasa repeated. "That is Elder Chiyo's assessment."
Chiyo was a renowned medical-nin in her own right, so Onoki was inclined to believe her diagnosis. He had no way of knowing that Rasa was lying simply to add weight to the claim.
Onoki's mind reeled for a moment. After a long pause, he took a deep breath and asked, "Is the intelligence about the black cat of the same caliber?"
"The very same," Rasa nodded.
Onoki grunted. "Thirty million."
"We suffered heavy losses to obtain this information," Rasa said immediately. "That's not enough."
"Forty million," Onoki said, his voice tight with irritation. "Not a ryo more."
The Land of Earth was different from the Land of Wind, they had abundant mineral resources and sold many ninja tools to other villages every year. So, money wasn't something they lacked much. He could still grit his teeth and pay forty million.
The key was whether the intelligence was important or not. Two pieces of intelligence as crucial as the hemophobia revelation were definitely worth that price, but any higher, and he'd be utterly disgusted.
"This is separate from what Kiri sold you," Rasa pressed. "What I can tell you is that the cat has mastered Tsunade's monstrous strength and even a technique of the First Hokage's: the Sage Art Gate of the Great God. I had to deploy my jinchuriki just to repel it, and now..."
He pulled back his robes to reveal a sealing formula on his torso. The fuinjutsu was real, but the tailed beast chakra contained within was a clever fake, a sample extracted during prior research and sealed on his body for this very purpose. To the naked eye, it was impossible to tell the difference.
Suna's original jinchuriki had been old. It was common knowledge that a jinchuriki of that age could easily die after releasing their tailed beast. The story was a convincing mix of truth and lies, and Onoki bought it.
After a moment's thought, he produced a sealing scroll, opened a large case, and counted out forty million ryo for Rasa.
As he took the money, Rasa added, "You can trust this information."
Onoki barely registered Rasa's departure. His mind was already racing, analyzing the new information about Tsunade and the cat. He needed a new strategy. Based on Rasa's account, the cat's mastery of the Sage Art wasn't perfect, but when combined with other techniques and the Flying Thunder God, it would still be devastating. If Konoha brought that to their front, deploying a tailed beast would be far too risky.
Beyond that, he was still reviewing the strategic situation. Kiri was subdued. Kumo had inexplicably allied with Konoha. That left only Iwa and Suna. It should have been a two-on-one fight, but Suna could barely be counted as a full player. You never knew when they might just give up.
'Wait!' He thought, a chilling suspicion forming. 'These bastards... they wouldn't have already surrendered, would they?!'
A jinchuriki dead, the tailed beast forced into the Kazekage himself... with the situation that dire, would Suna's leadership really have the spine to keep fighting? No, not a chance.
The realization hit him like a physical blow. He'd been swindled.
Forty million ryo.
The rage that surged through him was so intense he almost turned back to hunt Rasa down. But as he calmed himself, he considered it more carefully. The intelligence itself was probably real, it was the circumstances of its acquisition that were a lie.
Still... those damn Suna cowards. When would they ever grow a spine?
===============
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