The mission target was a tabby cat named Tora.
According to the mission brief, it belonged to the younger sister of the Fire Daimyō and had accidentally run away. The cat was extremely valuable—and exceptionally good at escaping.
The client had provided a photo. The cat in it was indeed beautiful, with amber-colored eyes and a red ribbon tied neatly around its neck.
"The activity area is the southeast district of Konoha," Kakashi Hatake said as he handed the photo to Naruto. "It was last spotted yesterday evening. Split up and search. We'll regroup here at noon."
"Split up?" Sakura asked, a little uneasy. "Shouldn't we stay together?"
"It's just a D-rank mission," Kakashi waved it off. "Besides, I want to see how you handle acting independently. Rin, go east. Sasuke, west. Naruto, south. Sakura, north. I'll wait here."
The four genin dispersed.
---
Rin took the photo and headed east at an unhurried pace.
The southeast district was mostly residential—densely packed houses, narrow alleys everywhere. It was exactly the kind of place a cat could vanish into.
As he walked, he quietly activated his perception.
[Yin Release Perception: Effective radius — 1 meter]
The range was limited, but enough to sense general life activity. Human chakra felt bright and steady, animals were dimmer, and plants were almost nonexistent.
Two streets passed with no results.
At the corner of the third, an elderly woman was hanging quilts out to dry. Rin approached and showed her the photo.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Have you seen this cat?"
The old woman squinted at the picture for a long moment. "Oh, Tora? It was stealing fish in my backyard this morning."
"Which way did it go?"
"That way." She pointed east. "Jumped straight over the wall—very nimble."
Rin thanked her and followed the direction indicated.
Beyond the wall was a small park, complete with a slide, swings, and a sandbox where several children were playing.
Rin stood still at the center of the park and closed his eyes.
His perception spread outward.
"A bird in the tree to the left… weak chakra. Insects in the flowerbed to the right. And behind…"
"Something moving. Small. Fast."
Rin opened his eyes and quietly circled around to the bushes behind the park.
He parted the leaves.
A pair of amber eyes stared straight back at him.
Tora.
The cat crouched there, tail gently swaying. The red ribbon around its neck was a little dirty. Instead of running, it simply watched him.
Rin squatted down and extended a hand. "Come here."
The cat tilted its head.
"Your owner is worried about you," Rin said calmly. "If you go back, you'll get good food."
Tora let out a soft meow but didn't move.
After a moment's thought, Rin took a small piece of pastry from his ninja tool pouch—a leftover from yesterday. He broke off a bit, placed it in his palm, and held it out.
The cat's nose twitched.
Slowly, it crept forward, sniffed, then licked the pastry clean. Afterward, it rubbed its head against Rin's hand.
"Good boy."
Rin reached out to pick it up—
—and the cat's fur suddenly bristled.
Its back arched sharply, and in a flash, it bolted away, leaping over the park wall and vanishing.
Rin froze for a split second.
Then he sensed someone behind him.
He turned.
Sasuke Uchiha stood at the park entrance, expression blank.
"You scared it," Sasuke said.
"It was going to be caught anyway," Sasuke continued as he walked closer. "Were you planning to lure it just now?"
"What else?" Rin replied. "Chase it all over Konoha?"
Sasuke paused, then said, "My way is faster."
He pulled a small net from his ninja tool pouch. "Use this."
"Where'd you get that?"
"I bought it this morning. The mission was posted yesterday," Sasuke said coolly. "Basic preparation."
Rin smiled faintly. "You're thorough."
The two vaulted over the wall together and resumed the chase.
Tora wasn't particularly fast, but it was clever—constantly darting into blind spots, slipping through alleys, and hopping onto rooftops.
After ten minutes, they lost sight of it again.
The two stopped in a narrow alley, both breathing a little heavily.
Rin leaned against the wall. "Looks like we'll need unconventional methods."
"Such as?"
"Cats have extremely sensitive hearing," Rin said. "They hate sharp, high-frequency sounds."
He formed a simple hand seal and gathered chakra in his throat.
"Beast Mimicry Technique: Cat Cry."
A piercing cat shriek echoed through the alley—not loud, but shrill enough to hurt. Sasuke frowned and covered his ears.
A few seconds later, the lid of a nearby trash bin rattled.
Tora poked its head out, ears flattened, clearly distressed.
Sasuke reacted instantly, throwing the net.
The cat tried to flee, but the net dropped cleanly over it. After a brief struggle, it stilled.
"Caught it," Sasuke said, lifting the net. The cat meowed helplessly inside.
Rin dispelled the technique and stepped closer. "There's something on its neck."
Under the red ribbon was a small copper bell. It hadn't made a sound while the cat was running, but now that it was still, a faint chime could be heard.
"Probably just decoration," Sasuke said.
"Maybe."
Rin reached out and touched the bell. It felt unnaturally cold.
[Contacted item: Copper Bell — faint chakra imprint detected]
[Analyze?]
[Analysis will consume a small amount of mental energy]
Rin chose Yes.
In an instant, fragmented images surfaced—not memories, but lingering chakra impressions.
A richly dressed woman holding the cat. Her fingers gently brushed the copper bell. She was smiling… yet her eyes were cold.
Then the images vanished.
"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.
"Nothing," Rin said, withdrawing his hand. "Let's turn in the mission."
---
When they returned to the meeting point, Naruto still hadn't arrived.
Sakura, however, was already there—holding a cat.
Unfortunately, it was black.
"I… I caught the wrong one," she said, face red.
Kakashi sighed.
Ten minutes later, Naruto came sprinting back, soaked in sweat and empty-handed.
"Didn't catch it?" Kakashi asked.
"That cat's impossible!" Naruto panted. "I used Shadow Clones and it slipped right through them! It even scratched my face!"
Rin handed over the net.
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Whoa! You guys caught it?! How?"
"By using my brain," Sasuke said flatly.
"What was that?!"
"Alright," Kakashi said, taking the cat. "Mission complete. Let's go."
The client—a middle-aged woman—was overjoyed to see Tora unharmed. She paid the reward, though after splitting it four ways, each genin only received a small amount.
As they left, Kakashi added, "There's another mission this afternoon—pulling weeds at the western training ground."
Naruto groaned. "Another boring job?!"
"That's life as a genin," Kakashi said, ruffling his hair. "Lunch break. Regroup at one."
They went their separate ways.
---
Rin didn't head home.
He stopped by a ninja tool shop and bought several new rolls of steel wire and shuriken. On his way out, he ran into Tenten.
"Hey, Rin," she greeted cheerfully. "I heard Team 7 was catching a cat today?"
"You hear things fast."
"Nothing stays secret in Konoha," Tenten leaned in and whispered. "By the way, during yesterday's survival exercise… you actually took a bell from Kakashi-sensei?"
"Just luck."
"Oh, come on," she laughed. "Neji said your taijutsu is unusual. When are we sparring?"
"When I have time."
"Deal."
She waved and left.
Rin watched her go. In the original timeline, she didn't get much attention later on—but her mastery of ninja tools was unquestionably top-tier. Exchanging throwing techniques in the future might be worthwhile.
The midday sun was blazing.
As he passed a dango shop, Rin hesitated, then went inside and bought three skewers.
Sitting in a corner and eating, he overheard two chūnin at the next table.
"Is it true? One of Orochimaru's hideouts?"
"ANBU intel. An abandoned base near the border of the Land of Rice Fields. Experimental equipment everywhere—but no people left."
"Orochimaru again… what's he planning this time?"
"Who knows. Things are tense. Missions outside the village are getting more dangerous."
Rin ate slowly.
So Orochimaru was already making moves.
That meant the Chūnin Exams weren't far off.
He needed to grow stronger—fast.
---
After finishing the dango, Rin headed to a training ground.
Not the one Kakashi mentioned—but Training Ground Three, where yesterday's bell test had taken place.
It was empty at noon.
He sat under a tree's shade and began practicing chakra control, condensing chakra at his fingertip into a tiny sphere and maintaining it without letting it expand or dissipate.
Basic—but effective.
After half an hour, sweat beaded on his forehead.
[Chakra control proficiency slightly increased]
[Current compatibility: 5.5%]
Barely any progress.
Rin lay back, staring at the sky through the leaves.
Too slow.
At this pace, reaching chūnin level by the exams would already be a stretch. And during the exams, he'd be facing Orochimaru, Shukaku, and a rampaging Naruto.
It wasn't enough.
Not even close.
Rin closed his eyes and entered the system space.
[Available Memory Fragment: Uchiha Madara (Young Adulthood) — First Battlefield Engagement]
"…Start."