Naruto: Paws and Whiskers

"What's there to talk about?" the Raikage scoffed. "I just tripped while walking and injured my hand. I heard Tsunade's medical ninjutsu is legendary, so I came all the way from the Land of Lightning for treatment. Do I need to report my every move to you, Mizukage? As for you... what are you doing here?"

He looked the Mizukage up and down, then let out a booming laugh.

'At least I came here willingly,' he thought. 'Look at this one.'

The man was covered in chakra seals and marked with the Hyuga's Tenketsu Needle. For a shinobi, it was no different from being tied up with ropes and dragged here.

Nearby,Yugito Nii shot the Mizukage a sympathetic glance. She had been brought here in much the same way, but she was a jinchuriki. He was the Third Mizukage. The level of humiliation wasn't even comparable.

Takeshi watched the scene unfold with a sense of satisfaction. The easiest way to make an unhappy person happy was to show them someone even more miserable, especially if that person happened to be their rival. It was working perfectly now.

'Sacrifice one Kage's dignity to bring another one joy,' he mused.

"I came to observe and learn from Konoha's advanced techniques," the Third Mizukage said squinting, his expression otherwise unreadable.

'Still, points received from him showed his true feelings,' Takeshi thought. 'Eight hundred. Not a huge sum, but getting eight hundred points from this guy was no easy feat.'

"Learn anything interesting?" the Raikage chuckled. "Perhaps I should teach you how a true master wields the Kiba blades."

"Oh?" The Mizukage's curiosity was piqued. His clan was the one who created the Kiba Blades, and the Lightning Release ninjutsu that accompanied them was a secret of his clan. For the Raikage to say such a thing was to claim he knew them better than their creator.

Yugito and Kakashi looked over as well, their interest caught. For Kakashi, this was especially important. The Kiba blades may have once belonged to the Mist, but they would soon be his.

"Give them to me," the Raikage said, holding out a hand. Kakashi wordlessly passed him the swords.

He took them, glanced around, and then pointed a thumb at Takeshi.

"Meow?" Takeshi pointed at himself with his paw. 'You and me, old man? We just fought this morning.'

"To avoid any accidents," the Raikage said with a slight cough, "just send a shadow clone to help with the demonstration."

He knew he couldn't handle the real cat's explosive speed, not right now. A shadow clone, however, would be a much more manageable opponent.

Takeshi shot him a withering look. 'Heh.'

He formed a clone, which took up a position three paces in front of the Raikage. In the next instant, the Raikage moved, charging the cat with blinding speed. The blade was a blur, and a torrent of lightning erupted from its edge. The condensed power was immense, but the shadow clone simply flickered backward, easily dodging the first strike.

The Raikage reacted instantly, throwing the right-hand blade. A crackling stream of lightning connected it to the one still in his left hand, arcing through the air as the thrown sword flew.

"Amazing," Kakashi breathed, understanding immediately. The Raikage had incorporated the Kumo's nintaijutsu into his kenjutsu. As long as his body could keep up with the blades, the style was incredibly deadly.

There was just one problem. If the enemy was faster than him, it fell apart.

Just like now.

Takeshi's clone leaped into the air, swatting the airborne blade down with a flick of his tail. He landed gracefully on the flat of the sword and looked down at the Raikage with an air of utter disinterest.

"Is this your kenjutsu, Raikage?" the Mizukage asked with a faint, mocking smile. Whether the style was effective or not, the chance to taunt his rival was too good to pass up.

"If you don't like it, you try," the Raikage gritted out. He shouldn't have picked this damned cat. The creature had no sense of solidarity. Didn't he understand that they were supposed to be on the same side when facing outsiders?

"Since these blades were passed down from the White Fang," the Mizukage said smoothly, "why not let his son have a go? That would be a more direct lesson. I have other matters to attend to, so if you'll excuse me." He gave a slight nod to the others and walked away.

He had gathered the intelligence he needed. The Raikage was injured and Yugito, a jinchuriki, had been captured. The Kumo had been forced to compromise. He wondered what their losses looked like. It was clear now that Kiri's ambitions of gaining a foothold on the mainland were impossible.

He sighed inwardly. As an island nation, they had always dreamed of making their mark on the continent, but from the First Mizukage's time to his own, that dream had remained out of reach. In the future, it would only grow more difficult. 

The strength of the hidden villages was tied to the economic power of their lands. The great nations of Fire, Lightning, and Earth would only grow stronger, while the Mist and the Sand would be left behind. Not even their Tailed Beasts would be enough to let them compete with Konoha.

"That guy is as boring as ever," the Raikage grumbled as the Mizukage departed. "No fun at all. Alright, kid, I've taught you what I can. That fulfills my promise. The rest is up to you."

He tossed the twin blades back to Kakashi and calmly walked toward the main camp, Yugito following close behind.

Kakashi caught the swords, his mind already working on how to adapt the Raikage's style into his own. As he stood there thinking, Takeshi strolled past, muttering just loud enough to be heard, "Tsunade-sama is busy treating our own wounded. I wonder if she'll have time for anyone else, meow."

The Raikage's frowned. He took a few more steps before stopping, clutching his injured arm. He had overexerted himself, and a sharp pain was shooting through it. He glanced back to see the black cat walking away with an arrogant swagger, as if it hadn't said a thing.Yugito started to chase after it, but the cat vanished without a trace.

She shot the Raikage a questioning look.

"Don't even think about it," Raikage sighed. "This place is crawling with Byakugan users, and you're marked with the Flying Thunder God seal. Just stay put. They won't harm you." It wasn't easy to escape a den of thieves once you were inside. Konoha still needed him to deal with Iwa, so they wouldn't force him to stay. As soon as his hand was healed, he would be on his way home.

Takeshi wasn't worried about them escaping. Both the Raikage and Yugito were marked with jutsu that would let him sense their location no matter where they ran. He used the Flying Thunder God to appear at Minato's side. He had intended to ask about the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, but he found Minato watching Tsunade examine Might Duy.

Minato sensed his arrival and led him a short distance away.

"It's not too serious," he explained quietly. "He just needs to rest for a while. He won't be able to use the Eight Gates again anytime soon."

Takeshi nodded. That meant Duy's body was strong enough that the cost of opening the sixth gate was manageable. After checking on the other wounded, he got to his point. "I wanted to ask about the Reverse Summoning Jutsu. My clan's summoning scroll was destroyed long ago, and the technique wasn't passed down."

"I know Reverse Summoning Jutsu," Minato said without hesitation. "It's no trouble to teach you."

Takeshi's eyes lit up. He had expected to have to go to Mount Myoboku or wait for Minato to summon Fukasaku. He hadn't thought it would be this simple.

"I studied it while I was researching the Flying Thunder God," Minato explained. "You're just using a summoning scroll as a medium to reverse the flow of the jutsu." He began to explain the principles in a low voice. Since Takeshi understood something as complex as Flying Thunder God, this should be easy for him.

After the explanation, Takeshi checked the price in his system. It had dropped to ten thousand points. With nearly thirty thousand saved up, he didn't hesitate to acquire it. He was also interested in Sealing Jutsu, but when he asked Minato, the man said he would have to ask Kushina.

'Completely whipped, no cure for it,' Takeshi grumbled to himself. But getting the information from Kushina wouldn't be a problem. He had the ultimate bargaining chip: Kanna Uzumaki. Once Kanna was in the picture, the secrets of the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts would be within his grasp.

First, though, it was time for a test.

Takeshi pulled out a sealing scroll and glanced over at the infirmary tent. Tsunade had finished her treatment and was now instructing Rin. He waited until they were done and had started to walk out before pressing his paw to the scroll.

*Poof!*

With a soft sound, Rin vanished from Tsunade's side and reappeared in front of him, a bewildered look on her face. When she saw Minato and Takeshi, she understood. This was the Reverse Summoning Jutsu she had read about in books.

"Meow~ I've learnt it!" Takeshi declared, putting the scroll away.

Tsunade glanced over, but before she could ask, Yugito rushed up and pulled her away.

Takeshi turned back to Rin and gave her the other half of the special cat food. In another five or six days, she would be ready to learn Sage Mode.

'I wonder what her Sage Mode will look like,' he thought, a flicker of excitement running through him.

"Are you working on Sage Mode?" Minato asked suddenly, having watched the exchange.

Takeshi and Rin both looked at him and nodded.

Minato paused for a moment. "What is your clan's Sage Mode like?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Honestly, I don't know, meow," Takeshi admitted with a human-like shrug of his paws. A cat's sage transformation was different from a human's, and Rin was still in the early stages of adapting.

"What a pity," Minato murmured, looking Rin up and down. He was fascinated by the conditions for achieving Sage Mode, but since neither he nor Jiraiya-sensei had fully mastered it, there was no way to study it properly. If Rin succeeded, she would be an invaluable source of data.

"Meow~ Rin should learn it soon," Takeshi said. "You can study it then, but don't do anything that might harm her."

"Of course," Minato promised. "Thank you, Takeshi."

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