Bright sunlight made Haseo stir uncomfortably—he was still half-asleep. He rolled over, turning his back to the window, and unintentionally buried his face in something soft and fluffy.
He instinctively reached out with his hand. Hmm, the texture felt nice—not just soft and smooth, but surprisingly fluffy too.
"Why are you sniffing around like that? Have you even brushed your teeth yet?"
Still groggy, Haseo reached out and touched his cat.
His cat was curled up right next to his pillow.
"And also...why have you suddenly gotten so fat? You actually feel better now, sure, but remember—you're a Black Cat, not an Orange Tabby."
Haseo pinched the Black Cat's belly, sensing that beneath its fur seemed to be thick layers of fat. After all, it was supposed to be a summoned beast—a "Ninja Cat." How could it lose control over its own body shape?
"Meow~ Mew~"
The Black Cat really wanted to remind Haseo about that golden hair strand issue—but as everyone knows, it had never been able to speak, being just a summoned creature without verbal skills.
Although Haseo could sense the cat's general emotions, he wasn't completely fluent in feline language, so this wasn't the cat's fault—it was simply a cross-species communication barrier.
Besides, it wasn't even morning anymore… It was already nearly noon.
Ninjas are individuals known for their iron discipline. Normally speaking, only slackers or those who've lost their edge ever failed to get up on time.
Still, Haseo managed to rise before midday, though he still felt somewhat groggy. At this point, falling back asleep wouldn't serve any purpose anyway, so he turned over and got up—
Just then came a clang as something dropped onto the wooden floor.
The Black Cat leapt off the bed and came back a moment later with something in its mouth. It stretched its neck forward and opened its jaw; a sapphire-blue pendant slid smoothly onto Haseo's pillow.
Haseo: "..."
Black Cat: "..."
A man and his summoned beast stared at each other—while one had no voice, the other just didn't dare to make a sound.
What happened? I just picked that thing up and brought it back... The cat tilted its head slightly. It sensed a hint of disappointment in Haseo's gaze—but how had it gone wrong?
Nothing, apparently.
This Black Cat was cute, well-behaved, and completely innocent.
Sighing, Haseo finally extended his hand and put the pendant around his neck. This little accessory sparkled beautifully—clearly top-notch quality just by appearance alone.
More importantly, it bore an official title—[Curse of First's Love].
You can run from fate, but never hide. When Tsunade tried handing the pendant to him earlier, Haseo had refused it outright at the time. But merely several days later, she had still achieved her goal.
Therefore, Haseo decided—he'd keep one hand on toilet paper and the other gripping his blade from now on, even when using the restroom.
The pendant sent a chill against his skin—as cool as a maiden's breath in winter.
Haseo got up and stepped barefoot onto the floor.
He was a bit hungry right then and also too lazy to go out for food. After rummaging through the house thoroughly, he finally found an egg.
It was still within its expiration date.
Light the stove, set a pot on it, pour in water, and throw in the egg — that's how you know Haseo really earned the title of Konoha's top cook. So with a flourish, Haseo completed his humble masterpiece—a simple boiled egg.
Then he sat down on a chair beside the table and began peeling the egg.
As someone with slight obsessive-compulsive tendencies, Haseo would definitely not ruin the egg white while peeling. So while removing the shell, his movements were especially gentle.
Black Cat sat hunched on the other side of the table, tilting its head to observe Haseo. Secretly thinking, why are you taking peeling an egg so seriously? There was something indescribably peculiar about those motions.
Haseo ignored the cat. He had long stopped threatening to boil cat meat—after all, he was quite a kind-hearted person. For example, right now, he was sharing the only food at home equally with his pet.
Fifty-fifty, absolutely fair.
"The Uzumaki child I asked you to look after earlier—is everything fine?"
"Meow~"
A hardworking cat deserved some credit... Although occasionally it couldn't help satisfying its curiosity by chasing butterflies here and there, but Haseo hadn't seen those instances anyway, right?
Haseo nodded. This mission had only been assigned a few days ago. Black Cat wasn't some overly sensitive diva type; how could problems arise so quickly?
But then Haseo seemed to suddenly realize something, "You suddenly gained so much weight—you didn't let the kids from the Ninja Academy feed you too much, did you?"
"Meow~ Meow~"
A pale, hurried, guilty-sounding meow served as a rebuttal. Egg yolk still clung to Black Cat's whiskers, and right now it looked exactly like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on… which suggested Haseo had guessed correctly.
For a cat, getting fat somehow took no time at all.
Haseo looked upward, speechless. Where was the dignity of this proud noble feline overlord, this mighty summoned beast? Had it really been bought off so easily by children's snacks?
Still, Haseo decided to forgive it. He was particularly lenient toward small animals.
Whether human or feline, everyone naturally had things they liked and enjoyed indulging in—whether snacks, or something else.
After eating simple, high-calorie food that somehow never satisfied fully, Haseo parted ways with his cat, each heading out separately.
Haseo had proper work to handle, while Black Cat rushed toward the Ninja Academy to continue fulfilling its mission.
The fact that Haseo stayed home had cost it half a day… But just like it hadn't mentioned the strand of golden hair hidden in his hair, Haseo also didn't mention the trace of egg yolk stuck on its whiskers.
This quiet little agreement between them was their own special kind of love.
Later, Haseo went to discuss troop allocation issues with two elders. But clearly, he was late—extremely, shockingly late—and consequently received very strict criticism from both advisors.
Haseo was a hot-headed smartass, but he dared to admit his mistakes. So in this situation, he could only immediately apologize and sincerely express his regrets to the two Elders — or as they were respectfully called, "Nii."
Yet this kind of attitude seemed quite slick to the two Elders — it's not like they could actually do anything about it even though Haseo had admitted fault.
They could only mentally mark this down with a silent grudge note.
But here's the real issue — even after apologizing, he still acted like a mess. During discussions concerning war strategies and coordination, he seemed absent-minded from time to time, fully immersed in a passive "yes, yes" state.
He flowed like water — neither fighting for dominance nor pushing back. No matter what these two Elders spoke about, he'd just meet them with a passive gaze.
"Regarding the logistics rhythm, considering the scale and intensity of operations on the Eastern Front, we believe it should be set to twice the length of those on the Western Front. After all, warfare has its priorities, and everything must first guarantee the operations on the Western Front..."
Until Mito Homura brought up provisions, finally snapping Haseo out of his daze.
No way around it — delayed provisions meant no support at all, which was basically gambling with lives.
Haseo shook himself awake and immediately switched into combat mode:
"Hold on! I have objections regarding this!"
[Mouth Barrage, Third Stage Activated!]
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