“Well -meow- I’m so sorry it’s depressing.”
A cat had sprung out from one of the broken air ventilator ducts.
“What the…?!” Kiba was discomposed by the sudden appearance of the cat. It was because he hadn’t been able to sense it with his nose.
Akamaru went on guard, letting out a low growl. In an instant, Shino was on the alert as well.
“Those hitai-ate… meow, Konoha shinobi?”
The cat was talking. It didn’t look like there were any other cats around. It was mostly grey-furred, with white fur at the tip of its nose, and mouth. It was glaring at them with sparking eyes.
“One sinks of dog. One stinks of bug. One is a dog.” After looking them all over, one by one, the cat muttered such abusive language. “Seriously, meow, you’re such a bunch of good for nothings.”
But Kiba didn’t mind that at all. He was looking at the cat and showering it with words of praise.
“This one’s a surprise.” Kiba said, “Completely without scent. This cat’s a big deal…!”
“Ninja cats completely remove our scent when we’re self-grooming our bodies, meow. We’re different from normal cats.”
“One of those rumoured ninja cats huh…?”
Shino fixed his eyes on the cat in front of him.
It looked like any other cat you’d find just about anywhere. Its movements were very cat-like as well.
The difference was the kimono it wore, and the human words it spoke.
Soraku had another side to it, as a paradise for cats. Many cats had come to live in the abandoned town. Most of them were normal cats who couldn’t speak the human language, but among them were these miraculous ninja cats who had learnt how to speak like human and use ninjutsu.
These ninja cats had served the black marketeer clan here for generations. Calling them a substantial authority in this town wouldn’t be exaggerating. Ninja cats cooperated with normal cats so that be it day or night, they were always keeping a watchful eye on the town. And, that included swiftly dealing with intruders.