Naruto: Paws and Whiskers

Minato nodded slightly, his eyes focused as he began to infuse chakra into the mouse puppet.

---

Ten seconds passed...

One minute passed...

Then two minutes passed...

For full three minutes, the mouse puppet held steady, until finally, it could no longer bear the chakra and started moving. Minato stopped infusing and turned his head to look at Takeshi.

"Squeak!" With a shrill squeak pierced the quiet. The mouse puppet slipped from Minato's grasp, rocketing away with a burst of incredible speed, leaving both Minato and Takeshi momentarily stunned. Takeshi's eyes widened as he watched the puppet disappear into the distance, mind racing to grasp its newfound agility. 

'Good thing I marked it,' Takeshi thought with a grimace, eyeing Minato with mild irritation. 'He overdid the chakra infusion.' 

Just as Takeshi prepared to use the Flying Thunder God, Minato leaped into action, darting after the puppet with swift, agile movements. Takeshi watched, bemused, as Minato navigated the obstacles with the ease of a seasoned ninja, his gaze sharp.

Minato's brow furrowed as he tracked the puppet. 'Strange...I didn't mark it, but there's Takeshi's mark here,' he thought, adjusting his approach.

Although Minato couldn't pinpoint the mark precisely, the closeness allowed him to make leaps with confidence, avoiding cluttered spaces and dodging stray furniture the puppet barely evaded, thankfully there aren't much objects for this puppet to hide under.

"This puppet's speed is impressive," Minato commented, a spark of genuine interest lighting his face. "The ninja cats from Neko Granny's Castle really are something."

Takeshi stretched and shrugged with a sly smile. "Meow~ This is just a prototype. They're getting better," basking in Minato's surprise. 

Minato was shocked. He thought those ninja cats in Cat Castle were just a bunch of stray cats getting together, but now it seemed that the they may be a force on their own...

Takeshi sighed internally. He wasn't thrilled about deceiving Minato, but explaining every odd item he'd encounter was impractical. Better to create the myth of a hidden ninja cat clan. 'Who knows,' he mused, 'maybe one day, I'll make it real.'

Minato inspected the puppet, his interest clear. "It's certainly high quality," he said, his voice brightening. "Imagine using it for speed drills—would be quite the challenge."

Takeshi grinned mischievously. "Who says only cats can catch mice? We could make it a team exercise, see how the students handle it. Let Kakashi and the others chase real mice for a change. They'll find out how hard it is firsthand."

Not only would it be effective training, but it also meant more points for Takeshi. Purrfect!

"Not a bad idea," Minato agreed, eyes glinting with enthusiasm. "With no missions at the moment, it's a great time for intensive training." He hesitated, a hint of guilt crossing his face. "Though… I may have to return to Land of Fire soon, which doesn't leave much time."

He was not a qualified Sensei. He had not given much help to the students so far. Even the special training had been supervised by the cat.

"Meow~ Treat me to a meal when we're back at the village, and all's forgiven," Takeshi replied, his playful purr drawing a chuckle from Minato.

"That's a promise. When you come by my house, I'll cook for you myself." Minato's smile awkwardly, no doubt imagining Takeshi's ravenous appetite.

It was always more economical to cook for big meal at home, knowing appetite of this cat, it will definitely be a big meal.

Cooking a big meal at home seemed prudent, given the cat's appetite, Minato was too good of a chef. better than risking Kushina's cooking driving everyone away from the meal entirely.

"Deal!" Takeshi accepted instantly, his whiskers twitching with excitement. 'I am their Supervisor! Hehe... More chances to score points!' he thought gleefully.

Watching Takeshi's gleeful expression, Minato couldn't help but think of Kakashi and Obito, blissfully unaware of the coming challenges. If they only knew Takeshi's plans, sleep would be the last thing on their minds—even now, they were probably struggling to wrap their heads around the excess theory of the Flying Thunder God technique.

"Meow~ I'm off. Left a mark on Rin earlier, so I'll get some shut-eye," Takeshi said, stretching luxuriously before vanishing with a quiet 'whoosh.'

Minato was speechless. This show-off...

Minato sighed and continued to ponder the problem he had been thinking about today in his mind - 'How do I to optimize and simplify the mark to the point where I can just slap it on something, to make it as effortless as Takeshi makes it look?'

This is quite important. Although his speed is fast enough, and his chakra control is good enough, often milliseconds of time can decide fate of the battle between Kages. And Minato is sure in coming war he will be fighting Kage level enemies.

If the mark can be put on instantly, his usage of Flying Thunder God will be boosted to a higher level. 'Well, let's set it as the research goal for the next stage...'

Minato was feeling abit depressed, 'Why is it that after studying for many years, I am not as good with Flying Thunder God as a cat who just learned it?' He found it puzzling.

Minato isn't the only one feeling lacking when it comes to Flying Thunder God at the moment. Now Kakashi and Obito were feeling inadequate too, especially after Takeshi returned to Rin's side with Flying Thunder God and reunited with the team...

"Everyone, congratulation me on learning Flying Thunder God, meow!" Takeshi stood on Rin's shoulder, looking down at everyone with his head held high, and shouted proudly, intentionally, just to mess with Obito and Kakashi.

Kakashi and Obito looked at Takeshi with a strong indignation, especially Obito, who thought Takeshi would also be bad at theoretical topics like himself, but he didn't expect that that within the team only he is lacking with theoretical aspects.

When asked on his understanding of Flying Thunder God, "Meow? Of course! It's easy," Takeshi answered casually. "Just a mental picture of the mark, then create a spatial tear and jump. Nothing complex."

"..." Kakashi's eyes were red as he clenched his fist, with his hand inching towards his sword. If he were from the Uchiha clan, he would have opened Sharingan right now.

But it was a pity that they couldn't beat Takeshi. Even if they were team up on this cat, it would be difficult.

After all, Takeshi is no longer the same as before - he can teleport now.

"Fine. I'm going to train," Kakashi muttered, storming off, his sword gripped tightly in his hand.

Takeshi grinned as he watched him go. "Don't be too hasty, meow~. Tomorrow, Minato Sensei assigned me to lead your special training~"

Obito's face fell, his finger darting between Takeshi and himself, Kakashi, and Rin. "Wait…you're…you're training us?"

He was praying in his mind that Takeshi was joking.

"Meow! Indeed." Takeshi nodded smugly.

"..." the human members of the team, stood there in silence.

'Is this what my life will continue to be like, if I don't become a Jonin? I must become stronger! Sooner or later, I will catch this cat and beat him up!?' Kakashi clenched his hands tightly.

But for now, he could only respond in a muffled voice: "Understood." After that, Kakashi went out with his sword.

He decided to train the family sword techniques a hundred times... no, two hundred times.

"No, impossible! I will find Sensei and change his mind..."

"Don't even think about it, the special training plan was my idea, meow~. I am your superior so you must follow, or are you considering insubordination?" Takeshi waved his claws and shut Obito up.

Rin blinked, looking concerned. "What's the special training?"

"Meow! It cannot be disclosed. But I will give an advance, a good rest tonight will help you alot." Takeshi stretched out his claws seriously.

If "someone" keeps practicing sword fighting in the middle of the night, he will definitely not have enough physical strength to keep up with the speed of the mouse the next day.

That's right! Takeshi decided to increase the speed of the mouse to max. At that speed, even Takeshi would need to open the Gate of Opening to catch the puppet. Kakashi and Obito should have no chance of catching up with the speed of the mouse.

'Hehehe, after they feel exhausted from their failure of catching the puppet, I can anger them further.'

Takeshi already started planning what lines to say to anger them further. His top ones were:

"You are the worst Team I have ever taught."

"You are not even as good as mice, and you consider yourself a genius!"

'So many delicious points!' Takeshi started fantasizing.

Obito felt a chill when he heard Takeshi's warning and immediately gave up the idea of going out for exercise to vent. He felt that this cat was not lying and was really advising them to rest so that they would be in top shape tomorrow.

Minato nodded slightly, his eyes focused as he began to infuse chakra into the mouse puppet.

Ten seconds passed...

One minute passed...

Then two minutes passed...

For full three minutes, the mouse puppet held steady, until finally, it could no longer bear the chakra and started moving. Minato stopped infusing and turned his head to look at Takeshi.

"Squeak!" With a shrill squeak pierced the quiet. The mouse puppet slipped from Minato's grasp, rocketing away with a burst of incredible speed, leaving both Minato and Takeshi momentarily stunned. Takeshi's eyes widened as he watched the puppet disappear into the distance, mind racing to grasp its newfound agility. 

'Good thing I marked it,' Takeshi thought with a grimace, eyeing Minato with mild irritation. 'He overdid the chakra infusion.' 

Just as Takeshi prepared to use the Flying Thunder God, Minato leaped into action, darting after the puppet with swift, agile movements. Takeshi watched, bemused, as Minato navigated the obstacles with the ease of a seasoned ninja, his gaze sharp.

Minato's brow furrowed as he tracked the puppet. 'Strange...I didn't mark it, but there's Takeshi's mark here,' he thought, adjusting his approach.

Although Minato couldn't pinpoint the mark precisely, the closeness allowed him to make leaps with confidence, avoiding cluttered spaces and dodging stray furniture the puppet barely evaded, thankfully there aren't much objects for this puppet to hide under.

"This puppet's speed is impressive," Minato commented, a spark of genuine interest lighting his face. "The ninja cats from Neko Granny's Castle really are something."

Takeshi stretched and shrugged with a sly smile. "Meow~ This is just a prototype. They're getting better," basking in Minato's surprise. 

Minato was shocked. He thought those ninja cats in Cat Castle were just a bunch of stray cats getting together, but now it seemed that the they may be a force on their own...

Takeshi sighed internally. He wasn't thrilled about deceiving Minato, but explaining every odd item he'd encounter was impractical. Better to create the myth of a hidden ninja cat clan. 'Who knows,' he mused, 'maybe one day, I'll make it real.'

Minato inspected the puppet, his interest clear. "It's certainly high quality," he said, his voice brightening. "Imagine using it for speed drills—would be quite the challenge."

Takeshi grinned mischievously. "Who says only cats can catch mice? We could make it a team exercise, see how the students handle it. Let Kakashi and the others chase real mice for a change. They'll find out how hard it is firsthand."

Not only would it be effective training, but it also meant more points for Takeshi. Purrfect!

"Not a bad idea," Minato agreed, eyes glinting with enthusiasm. "With no missions at the moment, it's a great time for intensive training." He hesitated, a hint of guilt crossing his face. "Though… I may have to return to Land of Fire soon, which doesn't leave much time."

He was not a qualified Sensei. He had not given much help to the students so far. Even the special training had been supervised by the cat.

"Meow~ Treat me to a meal when we're back at the village, and all's forgiven," Takeshi replied, his playful purr drawing a chuckle from Minato.

"That's a promise. When you come by my house, I'll cook for you myself." Minato's smile awkwardly, no doubt imagining Takeshi's ravenous appetite.

It was always more economical to cook for big meal at home, knowing appetite of this cat, it will definitely be a big meal.

Cooking a big meal at home seemed prudent, given the cat's appetite, Minato was too good of a chef. better than risking Kushina's cooking driving everyone away from the meal entirely.

"Deal!" Takeshi accepted instantly, his whiskers twitching with excitement. 'I am their Supervisor! Hehe... More chances to score points!' he thought gleefully.

Watching Takeshi's gleeful expression, Minato couldn't help but think of Kakashi and Obito, blissfully unaware of the coming challenges. If they only knew Takeshi's plans, sleep would be the last thing on their minds—even now, they were probably struggling to wrap their heads around the excess theory of the Flying Thunder God technique.

"Meow~ I'm off. Left a mark on Rin earlier, so I'll get some shut-eye," Takeshi said, stretching luxuriously before vanishing with a quiet 'whoosh.'

Minato was speechless. This show-off...

Minato sighed and continued to ponder the problem he had been thinking about today in his mind - 'How do I to optimize and simplify the mark to the point where I can just slap it on something, to make it as effortless as Takeshi makes it look?'

This is quite important. Although his speed is fast enough, and his chakra control is good enough, often milliseconds of time can decide fate of the battle between Kages. And Minato is sure in coming war he will be fighting Kage level enemies.

If the mark can be put on instantly, his usage of Flying Thunder God will be boosted to a higher level. 'Well, let's set it as the research goal for the next stage...'

Minato was feeling abit depressed, 'Why is it that after studying for many years, I am not as good with Flying Thunder God as a cat who just learned it?' He found it puzzling.

Minato isn't the only one feeling lacking when it comes to Flying Thunder God at the moment. Now Kakashi and Obito were feeling inadequate too, especially after Takeshi returned to Rin's side with Flying Thunder God and reunited with the team...

"Everyone, congratulation me on learning Flying Thunder God, meow!" Takeshi stood on Rin's shoulder, looking down at everyone with his head held high, and shouted proudly, intentionally, just to mess with Obito and Kakashi.

Kakashi and Obito looked at Takeshi with a strong indignation, especially Obito, who thought Takeshi would also be bad at theoretical topics like himself, but he didn't expect that that within the team only he is lacking with theoretical aspects.

When asked on his understanding of Flying Thunder God, "Meow? Of course! It's easy," Takeshi answered casually. "Just a mental picture of the mark, then create a spatial tear and jump. Nothing complex."

"..." Kakashi's eyes were red as he clenched his fist, with his hand inching towards his sword. If he were from the Uchiha clan, he would have opened Sharingan right now.

But it was a pity that they couldn't beat Takeshi. Even if they were team up on this cat, it would be difficult.

After all, Takeshi is no longer the same as before - he can teleport now.

"Fine. I'm going to train," Kakashi muttered, storming off, his sword gripped tightly in his hand.

Takeshi grinned as he watched him go. "Don't be too hasty, meow~. Tomorrow, Minato Sensei assigned me to lead your special training~"

Obito's face fell, his finger darting between Takeshi and himself, Kakashi, and Rin. "Wait…you're…you're training us?"

He was praying in his mind that Takeshi was joking.

"Meow! Indeed." Takeshi nodded smugly.

"..." the human members of the team, stood there in silence.

'Is this what my life will continue to be like, if I don't become a Jonin? I must become stronger! Sooner or later, I will catch this cat and beat him up!?' Kakashi clenched his hands tightly.

But for now, he could only respond in a muffled voice: "Understood." After that, Kakashi went out with his sword.

He decided to train the family sword techniques a hundred times... no, two hundred times.

"No, impossible! I will find Sensei and change his mind..."

"Don't even think about it, the special training plan was my idea, meow~. I am your superior so you must follow, or are you considering insubordination?" Takeshi waved his claws and shut Obito up.

Rin blinked, looking concerned. "What's the special training?"

"Meow! It cannot be disclosed. But I will give an advance, a good rest tonight will help you alot." Takeshi stretched out his claws seriously.

If "someone" keeps practicing sword fighting in the middle of the night, he will definitely not have enough physical strength to keep up with the speed of the mouse the next day.

That's right! Takeshi decided to increase the speed of the mouse to max. At that speed, even Takeshi would need to open the Gate of Opening to catch the puppet. Kakashi and Obito should have no chance of catching up with the speed of the mouse.

'Hehehe, after they feel exhausted from their failure of catching the puppet, I can anger them further.'

Takeshi already started planning what lines to say to anger them further. His top ones were:

"You are the worst Team I have ever taught."

"You are not even as good as mice, and you consider yourself a genius!"

'So many delicious points!' Takeshi started fantasizing.

Obito felt a chill when he heard Takeshi's warning and immediately gave up the idea of going out for exercise to vent. He felt that this cat was not lying and was really advising them to rest so that they would be in top shape tomorrow.

Outside the camp, Kakashi took out his sword from the scabbard and began to train. As he swung his sword, he started muttering, "One cat, two cats, three..."

-------------------

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