The fireworks in the dead of night were not only loud, dazzling, and bright enough to illuminate the entire village—they also carried a thick, unmistakable smell of burning protein.
Hundreds of thousands of ordinary civilians simply watched the spectacle for a moment, then returned to sleep.
But among the tens of thousands of shinobi in Konoha, most recognized it instantly—
That was the smell of burning human flesh.
Mixed within it was another scent—something even more pungent and distinct, the stench of waste being incinerated alongside the body.
The combination was unmistakable.
Panic spread quickly among the shinobi.
For a time, an absurd contrast emerged—
The civilians slept peacefully, unaware.
The shinobi lay awake, uneasy and disturbed.
Even the third wave of assembled forces was shaken. Morale wavered, forcing Hiruzen Sarutobi to delay their departure, lest that fear spread to the front lines.
That was why he had convened the emergency meeting—forcing Danzo Shimura to "find" evidence, to produce an enemy who could take the blame.
In short—
The situation had escalated far beyond control.
…
"Meow! Do you still dare mess around like that again?!"
"I won't."
"I thought you were a good person, and it turns out you're a complete pervert!"
"Human-body fireworks, meow! Completely deranged, meow!"
"…That's actually a pretty accurate description."
"Shut up!"
"If I'd known you were this kind of lunatic, I would never have made a contract with you, meow!"
"Heh…"
"You're still laughing?! I'm furious! Scrub harder!"
Miwa Masayo sat stubbornly in the bath, no longer caring about her usual fear of water, ordering her summoner to scrub her down while scolding him nonstop.
This was all Uchiha Yoru's fault.
Last night, those four explosive "fireworks" had scattered ash and residue across the entire village.
Naturally, some of it had landed on her fur.
For humans, it was just dust—wipe it off and be done.
For a ninja cat, however—
It was something far worse.
A mixture of human oils, waste, and other substances, burned together and fused into something foul beyond description.
The smell alone could qualify as a weapon.
Miwa Masayo had been stunned on the spot by the stench.
And in that moment of shock—
Uchiha Yoru had actually managed to sneak a touch on her ears.
An unforgivable humiliation.
A cat's ears were not something to be touched lightly!
That shameless human!
Were they even that close?!
Once she recovered, Miwa Masayo unleashed a flurry of furious swipes, leaving dozens of crisscrossing scratch marks on her summoner before ending the summoning and storming back to the Cat Castle.
But the next morning—
She returned.
She had no choice.
The smell was unbearable.
Except for the Granny Cat, none of the ninja cats could tolerate it. They had collectively driven her out.
Even if she hated bathing, she had no choice now but to rely on Uchiha Yoru.
One wash wasn't enough.
Nor two.
Three times.
Four times.
Only when she could no longer detect even a trace of that disgusting scent did she finally relax.
As the smell faded under soap and water, her mood improved.
Soon, she began grinning mischievously, imagining the fate of the dogs from the Inuzuka clan.
"Hehehehe, meow… If I ended up like this, those stupid dogs might've actually died, right?"
"If they did, then it was worth it, meow."
"Yoru, once I'm clean, you have to take me to the Inuzuka clan. I want to see it with my own eyes, hear it with my own ears… hehehehe, meow."
Uchiha Yoru smiled and agreed absentmindedly.
But his thoughts were elsewhere.
Even he hadn't expected himself to act so recklessly.
Without thinking, he had chosen the most blatant, most eye-catching method possible—
Destroying the bodies in full view of the entire village.
That wasn't his usual style.
Before, he would have used controlled flames, slowly reducing the corpses to ash, then scattering the remains in a river.
Or—
He could have used earth techniques to bury them deep underground, leaving no trace for decades.
Even if discovered years later, it would have been too late to matter.
If not for his newly awakened earth-aspected natural energy, he could have disposed of them beneath flowing water, burning them away quietly.
Anything—
Anything but what he did.
After a night of reflection, Uchiha Yoru reached a conclusion.
This was a deviation born from his cultivation.
A flaw in his mind.
His path began with fire-aspected natural energy. Completing the hundred-day accumulation had strengthened his heart and spirit first.
That in itself wasn't wrong.
But—
He had no proper method.
No teacher.
No guidance.
He relied only on fragmented knowledge, using pain and comfort as his only compass.
All the pitfalls of cultivation—
He knew none of them.
And now, he was paying the price.
His heart had grown too strong.
So strong that it disrupted the balance within him.
That imbalance gave rise to restlessness.
Its outward expression—
Impulsiveness.
Competitiveness.
Recklessness.
A tendency to act without considering consequences.
A drive to do things in the most attention-grabbing way possible.
If not for the stabilizing effect of the earth-aspected energy that had begun to temper his body—
He might have gone even further.
The thought made him shiver.
If he had really pushed it that far, the ANBU would have caught onto him.
And that would have been truly disastrous.
So how did one tame this restless nature?
This wasn't just a problem of cultivation.
It was human nature itself.
Most children went through something similar.
And how did humans deal with that?
Uchiha Yoru knew the answer immediately.
In his previous life, he had gone through years of structured education, endless exercises, and relentless discipline.
The method was etched into his very bones.
Focus.
"I need to find something to do. Something I can fully devote myself to."
"I can't stay idle like this anymore."
"Meow? What are you muttering about, Yoru?"
"I was thinking… even if I don't take missions for now, I need to keep myself occupied. I need to temper my mind. I can't repeat yesterday's mistake."
"Good, meow. You finally understand your error. I'm very satisfied."
"First—make me something delicious!"
"…Fine. Let me dry your fur first—"
"Meow! Don't touch my ears!"
"That wasn't me. My hands just moved on their own…"
"…?"
Strange. No reaction this time… Her ears are really soft…
"Meow meow punch!"
"Ah—! That hurts!"
…
As an experienced cat owner, Uchiha Yoru always kept ingredients suitable for cats at home.
After checking his supplies, he found chicken breast, cheese, eggs, and flour.
Cheese chicken pancakes.
That would do.
He boiled the chicken first, then chopped it into small pieces. Mixing it with cheese, beaten eggs, and flour, he added a bit of cooled water and stirred until the batter reached the right consistency.
Then he heated oil in a pan, poured in the batter, and rotated the pan to spread it into thin, even layers.
Once set, he flipped each pancake.
Golden on both sides—
Perfect.
He made ten in one go before stopping.
While waiting for them to cool, he quickly prepared a stir-fried dish of eggs and green peppers, adding extra salt for himself to wrap into the pancakes.
Simple.
But fragrant.
Soon, lunch was ready.
Man and cat sat down and began eating.
This time, Uchiha Yoru didn't bring out any alcohol.
There was nothing to celebrate.
And more importantly—
He wasn't sure whether yesterday's recklessness had anything to do with drinking.
He made up his mind.
For the time being, he would stick to plain water.
Until the end of the year—
Not a drop of alcohol.
This, too—
Was part of taming his restless mind.
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