'How does he just get away with that?'
Yugito's entire worldview was taking a beating. Mifune's decree had been perfectly reasonable: as a neutral nation in a time of war, the Land of Iron would not accept any foreign caravans or travelers. Yet this black cat had not only strolled right past the guards but had somehow convinced Mifune to send them off in a carriage.
'Strength doesn't give you the right to ignore every rule... does it?' She couldn't make sense of it.
"Meow~ Because I'm strong. And it wasn't a big deal. I didn't even ask for money, so why wouldn't he help? It just shows how friendly the Land of Iron and Konoha are."
Takeshi genuinely felt wronged.
He had been very restrained. Mifune had offered on his own. How was that his fault? He hadn't killed anyone or shaken anyone down, he'd just eaten a meal and asked for a carriage.
What was everyone so worked up about?
Yugito fell silent. She could only pray that this brand of "friendship" would never be inflicted upon Kumogakure. Let the black cat go and plague some other village.
Without even realizing it, she had started to see him as something akin to a demon king. Even after he had treated her to all sorts of meals lately, her wariness and resistance toward him hadn't faded in the slightest.
Her body, however, was telling a different story.
She had become a little butterball, soft and chubby, in a cute sort of way, but the delicate prettiness she once had was gone. She had simply gotten too fat.
Inside Yugito, with part of the sealing restrictions removed, the Two-Tails, Matatabi, watched quietly. She had no interest in struggling or reminding her host of anything.
'But this cat...'
His growth was absurd. At this rate, Matatabi wasn't even sure she could win against him. 'Forget it,' she thought. 'Not my problem.'
Matatabi watched in silence for a moment longer before letting her head droop, losing all interest.
The roads in the Land of Iron were well-maintained, and this stretch was particularly flat. The carriage moved quickly and smoothly, and Takeshi, finding the ride quite pleasant, rested his head on Yugito's lap and began to doze.
Once they crossed into the Land of Lightning, however, the carriage from the Land of Iron would go no further. As a neutral nation, the samurai of the Land of Iron had survived for so long by adhering to two simple principles: they never posed a threat, and they always knew their place.
At the border, the driver absolutely refused to continue.
"Fine, meow. You can head back. We'll get to Kumogakure on our own."
There was nothing to be done. The man wouldn't budge, and it wouldn't be right to threaten some poor civilian just trying to make a living. They would have to cover the rest of the distance themselves.
Takeshi glanced around before leaping lightly onto Yugito's shoulder.
"What are you doing?"
"We're running, meow. Consider it weight training."
The black cat always had an answer for everything. In the end, he could always come up with something she couldn't argue with, he was stronger, and that fact alone left her helpless. She had no choice but to cooperate. Besides, it wasn't just a matter of might makes right, Takeshi also happened to have a surprisingly good relationship with the Third Raikage.
Fortunately, as a jinchuriki, she could draw on her Tailed Beast's chakra. The journey didn't tire her out, and they made impressive time, covering the distance from the border to Kumogakure in just a couple of hours.
The Land of Lightning was starkly different from the Land of Fire. The country was almost entirely mountainous, with very few plains. Most of the towns were built directly into the mountainsides, which made transportation a nightmare.
If you wanted to build wealth, you had to build roads. With the roads in such poor condition, commerce couldn't flourish. The towns Takeshi saw along the way seemed far poorer than those in the Land of Fire.
Of course, not every town was perched on a mountaintop. The ones nestled in the relatively flat river valleys at the foot of the mountains were bustling and prosperous.
Kumogakure itself was built among the peaks. The mountains were shrouded in clouds, and from below, the village was completely hidden, save for the faint outlines of a few scattered buildings.
"So, meow, which one of these is the Raikage's office?" Takeshi asked, a little lost.
There were so many peaks, and checking them one by one would be a pain. He could use the Flying Thunder God to get there instantly, but just like his last visit, he didn't want to reveal that he had placed a marker on the Third Raikage.
"It's over there," Yugito said, pointing. "But I think we should wait here."
In the direction she indicated stood three tall mountains. Those peaks housed the Raikage's office and Kumogakure's most heavily guarded areas.
When they first left Mifune, Yugito hadn't fully understood. But now, looking at her home, she finally grasped why the samurai had been so wary of letting Takeshi into their country. The cat was too dangerous, and his reputation was terrible. If he just charged in, it could easily lead to the same kind of misunderstanding they'd had back in the Land of Iron. Takeshi was undeniably powerful, and she didn't want her village to pay the price for his carelessness.
Her concern was valid, but her solution was useless.
The next second...
*Zzzt-*
A shrill crackle of lightning and the boom of displaced air echoed at the same time. A figure shot toward them at high speed. The black cat narrowed his eyes. The man was fast, but Takeshi wasn't worried.
"Ay-sama!" Yugito shouted out, trying to stop him.
It was too late.
Ay drove in with Lightning Release: Armour blazing, his speed pushed to something brutal. He had clearly been training hard, he was stronger than before.
But having witnessed Takeshi's true power, Yugito knew he couldn't win.
Sure enough, the moment Ay was upon them, the black cat lifted a paw with deliberate slowness and swatted him out of the air. He had come in fast, and he was sent flying back just as quickly. The Wind Release chakra in the strike had torn a gap in his lightning armor, allowing the blow to land with its full force, and Takeshi hadn't even used his full strength. If he had, Ay would be in far worse shape.
"Hahaha! I told you that you were no match for him, son, but you had to try it for yourself. Are you convinced now?"
The Third Raikage came sprinting over. The shinobi of Kumogakure weren't incompetent, if they couldn't detect a girl and a black cat approaching their village, they would have been destroyed long ago. Ay had rushed out as soon as they were spotted. The Third Raikage, on the other hand, had clearly been watching from the sidelines, waiting for his son to get knocked around.
'What a nasty old man,' Takeshi grumbled to himself.
The Third Raikage reached them and was about to speak when he got a clear look at Yugito. He froze for a few seconds, then asked with a hesitant, disbelieving tone, "Are you... Yugito?"
"Raikage-sama, Yugito Nii has returned," she said, bowing respectfully.
The Third Raikage was silent. He couldn't quite process it. How could the cute, pretty girl he remembered have gone to Konoha and returned... like this? Was this really the same Yugito? She was so much rounder. He had to be seeing things.
"Raikage-sama?" Yugito asked, a hint of panic in her voice. Why was he looking at her like that? Had she done something wrong? She thought for a moment, and then it hit her.
"Takeshi-sama, my forehead protector! The forehead protector!"
"Meow!" Takeshi fished it out and tossed it to her.
Yugito caught it and quickly tied it on, bowing again. "I'm sorry, Raikage-sama. I didn't mean to take it off. It was only because we had to cross the Land of Iron..."
"It's fine, I, I understand," the Third Raikage said, still staring. "But Yugito, what... happened to you?"
She was confused. She had put her forehead protector back on. What else could be wrong?
By now, a battered Ay had dragged himself over. When he saw Yugito, his expression mirrored his father's, though he was far more direct. "Yugito," he asked bluntly, "how did you get so fat?"
"Ah?"
Every girl is sensitive about being called fat, and Yugito was no exception.
She immediately snatched off her forehead protector and used the metal plate as a mirror. The face staring back at her was noticeably fuller, her cheeks round and soft.
It was cute, but...
'Why am I this fat?!'
Her good mood shattered instantly. Her mind flashed back to the black cat's strange "kindness" over the past few weeks, and suddenly, the truth dawned on her.
"It was you," she shrieked. "You did this on purpose!"
It all made sense now. Why that awful cat kept treating her to meals. Why he was so generous, paying for everything and making sure she barely had to move, only forcing her to run at the very end, right before they reached the village.
It was all a plot. She was fat. Fat...
"Meow, meow, meow? Don't you go slandering an innocent cat. I was just being a good host. Besides, you were the one stuffing your face in Konoha, saying 'This is amazing,' and 'So delicious,' and 'I don't want to leave.' You cleaned your plate every single time, and now I'm the bad guy?"
Takeshi wasn't about to indulge her. In his opinion, he was adorable too.
Yugito's composure completely crumbled. Her lips trembled, her eyes filled with tears, and she burst out sobbing as she ran off.
"I'm going to the Valley of Clouds and Lightning to lose weight! Waaaaah!"
The Valley of Clouds and Lightning was a gorge near the village where she and Killer Bee often trained with their Tailed Beasts. Because of that, almost no one else ever went there.
"I really meant well, meow..." Takeshi said awkwardly.
He had underestimated how devastating gaining weight could be to a girl. Even at eleven or twelve, Yugito clearly cared a great deal.
The Third Raikage and Ay were speechless.
'Meant well?' Yeah, right.
The poor girl was in tears. Still, they couldn't blame Takeshi for everything. Yugito had her own weaknesses, and they weren't exactly small ones. He had simply taken advantage of them.
'Troublesome...' the Third Raikage sighed to himself. He was beginning to wonder if sending Yugito to Konoha as a hostage had been the right choice. Maybe he should have sent Killer Bee instead. At least Bee's bizarre rapping would have driven everyone in Konoha insane.
Instead, they had sent a pretty girl to Konoha, and in return, they got back a chubby, round version with a newfound love for food.
Fortunately, with the amount of exercise a ninja did, she would slim down quickly enough with a month or two of training and a reasonable diet. And for a ninja, especially a jinchuriki, looks weren't that important.
The Third Raikage hesitated for only a moment before gesturing toward the mountains. "Let me show you around Kumogakure. It's quite different from your Konoha."
"That's true enough," Takeshi said. "The Land of Fire has a lot more flat ground. You don't have to build everything on mountains, meow."
'Could he not put it like that?'
===============
Dear Readers and Fans,
For those eager to dive into next chapters earlier before others, I invite you to join us on Patreon. By becoming our Patron, you not only gain access to exclusive advanced chapters but also help us continue this endeavour and expand it further.
https://www.pat reon.com/8Ashes8
(no space)
You can read upto 7 Chapters in advance.