Naruto: Paws and Whiskers

Despite Kakashi and Obito's lack of enthusiasm, the "special training" was inevitable. 

The previous night, Minato had reported to Jiraiya, detailing Takeshi's unique training plan to his sensei, including the unusual "mouse-catching exercise."

By dawn, Minato had already submitted the official "Special Training Consent Form," authorizing Special Jonin Takeshi to train Team Minato. 

Although Kakashi, Obito, and Rin had no idea, Takeshi's paw had already claimed control over their fates.

In Minato's mind, if he couldn't directly oversee his team's progress, he could at least handle the bureaucracy for their sake. 

However, Obito would have gladly traded this "thoughtfulness" for a peaceful night. His sleep had been haunted by Minato's soft-spoken yet unrelenting voice, droning on about complex concepts in mathematics, physics, biology, and, of course, the secrets of the Flying Thunder God technique.

Eventually, Obito managed to drift into a restless slumber, only to find himself trapped in a nightmare where Takeshi effortlessly bested him while pranking him, leaving him in tears before his unbothered sensei. 

In the dream, Minato merely patted his shoulder and said, "This is Takeshi's special training. I have no say in it." Obito jolted awake, drenched in sweat, only to feel the sting of his own desperation. The harder he tried to rest, the further sleep seemed to slip away.

Kakashi, on the other hand, had a different approach to insomnia. After swinging his sword over two hundred times, he'd collapsed from exhaustion, falling into a deep, undisturbed slumber. Morning found him refreshed, while Obito's bloodshot eyes and dark circles betrayed his restless night. His eyes bloodshot, practically glowing with a frustration that seemed only a step away from igniting his Sharingan.

"Obito, you didn't sleep well last night? Do you want to…" Kakashi began, wiping his sword.

"No, I'm fine," Obito responded through gritted teeth. He couldn't show weakness in front of Kakashi, no matter what. He would guard his last shred of dignity at all costs.

"Don't hold me back because of your tiredness, loser," Kakashi said, his voice cold and superior.

Takeshi watched from a nearby rock, eyes gleaming with mischief. 'It seems Kakashi's back in his usual smug form, that's the Kakashi Hatake I love to play with.' he mused. 'Perfect, breaking that composure is going to be so much more satisfying.'

While Obito was generally more emotionally expressive and explosive, it was often Kakashi's emotional turmoil that gave more points. Last night, Kakashi and Obito both made small contributions to Takeshi, He took a deep breath, then turned to Obito with an air of genuine mentorship. "Obito, remember: confidence is important, but building resilience is equally essential. You need strength, not just in body, but in spirit and will…"

Obito gritted his teeth. "I'm fine," he snapped, trying to suppress the frustration bubbling inside. 'I'm not like Asuma,' he told himself, bitterly thinking of his more privileged classmate. 'That guy doesn't understand the first thing about real challenges. And hides behind Hokage's robes.'

He often felt dissatisfied with Asuma. After all, that guy was the son of the Hokage and had many benefits, yet he still acted like he relied on himself. 'Damn idiot! He doesn't respect the dangers of this profession enough. Unlike me... I actually have to rely on myself.'

Lost in thought, Obito snapped back to reality when Rin's voice called from the front. "Obito! Hurry up!"

He looked around, startled, realizing he'd fallen behind the group. With a quick, determined stride, he caught up, and Rin greeted him with a supportive smile. Takeshi, meanwhile, trotted effortlessly alongside them, nodding approvingly.

"Good speed, meow. You can show off your skills in the special training later," Takeshi stopped, turned around, and waved with his paw. He was in no hurry to leave, and in the blink of an eye, he was immediately next to Kakashi and at the front of the team, using the Flying Thunder God. 'Looking cool!'

"What's so great about this? I'll learn it one day..." Obito grumbled in dissatisfaction, but after thinking about it carefully, with his limited knowledge, learning the Flying Thunder God would probably take him a lifetime. And even if he did learn it, he couldn't beat this cat. 'It seems trying to surpass this cat could also take a lifetime of learning and training.'

Looking up, Obito sighed softly. Perhaps only by evolving his Sharingan, as mentioned in the clan's historical texts, could he have a chance to catch upto and beat Takeshi. 

If Takeshi knew, he would probably laugh out loud. 'Would he be afraid? The wool comes from the sheep. When the sheep evolve to the point where they can beat the shepherd, the shepherd has already used the wool money for a weapons to keep them in line...'

The training grounds were set in a secluded valley, tucked away from any border or village—a perfect place for their little mission. Takeshi noticed traces left by past shinobi, hinting that this area had seen training before. But none of that would prepare his team for today's exercise.

Kakashi, already suspicious, glared at Takeshi as they reached the clearing. "What's our objective, then?" he sneered, folding his arms with a bored expression. "Another one of those childish bell exercises?"

Clearly, he didn't think Takeshi could come up with any unique training method that would surprise him. No matter what, he was an elite Chunin. What hasn't he seen in the world?

"Meow~ There's no need to hurry," Takeshi smiled softly. In order to make a fool of Kakashi and Obito, he barely slept at all last night. 

Not long after, Rin and Obito also arrived at the training ground. The three of them stared at Takeshi, especially Rin, with her eyes almost pleading not to bully them too much.

Turning to Kakashi, Takeshi flicked his tail. "I suggest you summon your eight ninja dogs," he said, his tone laced with challenge. "They might come in handy for what I have in mind."

'What the hell are you going to do? Can't you at least say it beforehand!' Kakashi was angry at the suspense but kept his expression blank, glancing coldly. He continued to maintain his cold persona, but the wave of points, more than 300, expressed his inner frustrations. 

For a Chunin, this was a high number. Takeshi nodded slightly, clapped his paws, and pulled the mouse puppet out of his item space. At this time, the mouse puppet that looked nothing more than an ordinary, unmoving mouse puppetwas in an inactive state.

"Your mission is to catch this mouse."

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin all stared, bewildered. Especially Kakashi, who had felt a hint of thrill at the mention of his ninja dogs but now found himself staring at what seemed like a joke. 'This… this is it?' Kakashi thought, incredulous. 'All this buildup for a half-dead mouse puppet?'

With a mocking sneer, Kakashi said, "I could catch this in one jump." This was a rare opportunity for him to sneer at Takeshi, and he couldn't let it pass.

But he was young after all. If it were the old Kakashi, more than ten years later, he would have responded with something like, "Ah, did you say something?" while acting confused to anger others.

 "Suit yourself. You have thirty seconds to prepare, but a word of caution—if anyone uses damaging ninjutsu, I'll have them catching forest rats for a month," began to infuse chakra. Yesterday, Minato slowly injected his chakra into the bullet in fear of damaging it. 

 Knowing the maximum, Takeshi filled it up to the limit. While he said 30 seconds, in less than 20 seconds, With a sudden burst, the puppet jerked to life, squealing loudly as it shot out of Takeshi's grasp and darted into the trees at a speed that stunned all team 7 members.

"!!!" Kakashi and Obito froze, eyes wide as the mouse sped away, moving faster than even some Jonin-level shinobi, 'What the hell, it looked half-dead just a moment ago.'

"This, this..." Obito was stunned and looked at Kakashi from the corner of his eyes. 'Didn't you boast you would catch it in one jump? Well, why aren't you jumping?'

"Chase after it, why are you just standing there!" Rin reacted the fastest, rushing ahead and using the Body Flicker Jutsu to chase after the mouse, but her speed was too slow to catch up. "I, I..."

"I got this!" Obito tensed his legs and rushed forward. If he didn't chase the mouse, it would disappear into the forest. Kakashi didn't say anything as he also chased after the mouse. Their previous misconception of this mouse was thrown away as soon as it started running. They realized this mouse had Jonin-level speed.

The most annoying part was the verbal jabs Kakashi received from the side. "Where's that single jump you promised, Kakashi?" Takeshi taunted, matching Kakashi's speed stride for stride, his amused tone making Kakashi's blood boil. 

'This damn cat is matching my speed on purpose!' Kakashi suppressed his anger, trying to focus on the task. If he could go back in time, he would never say that again, but now he couldn't care about his previous boast. Forget catching this damn thing in one jump; he might not be able to catch up with it at all.

'I can't focus with this cat's taunting in my ears.' He used chakra to stimulate his muscles, doubled his speed, and rushed forward, but soon, he found... This damn cat was still following him.

"Not calling your ninja dogs?" Takeshi teased with a slight tilt of his head. "At this rate, you'll never even find it."

"I don't need their help," Kakashi spat, trying to mask his frustration. He picked up his pace, but the mouse had already slipped out of view.

He was running forward desperately, trying his best to get away from this cat.

Fortunately for him, Takeshi couldn't catch up to Kakashi's current speed without using the Gate of Opening. Unfortunately for Kakashi, this cat was proficient with the Flying Thunder God.

While Kakashi boasted again that he would catch the mouse, he was not a dog or a superior species like a cat, so he didn't have such a sensitive nose. The mouse had already run away, and only Takeshi knew where it was.

This mouse puppet was a toy. It would stop after running a certain distance and would not continue to run until someone approached it. 

And as it was too fast, even if Kakashi knew where it was, he couldn't catch up with it with his speed. Takeshi stopped following him and went to observe Rin and Obito from behind.

Obito ran fast, almost a little slower than Kakashi, but Rin's physical skills were indeed the worst among the three, and Obito left her far behind. 

They were not losing sight of the mouse, but there was no teamwork, no coordination, no plan. 

This was understandable, Takeshi himself didn't expect the mouse to be so fast until he saw it fully charged last night, let alone Kakashi and the rest.

Now, let them see its full speed first, and then Takeshi would make them find ordinary forest rats. After they dealt with the forest rats, they would give this mouse puppet another try. This was Takeshi's training plan.

As for now, the chakra of this mouse puppet alone was enough for Kakashi and the rest of the team to play with it for a while, and it was likely impossible for the three of them to catch it soon. 

When the puppet's chakra reduced, its speed would obviously slow down, and Takeshi would decisively call a halt before they could catch it.

'What a purrfect plan! Hehehe,' Takeshi rubbed his paws with an evil smile that others didn't see.

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

Dear Readers and Fans,

For those eager to dive into next chapters earlier before others, I invite you to join us on Patreon. By becoming our Patron, you not only gain access to exclusive advanced chapters but also help us continue this endeavour and expand it further. 

https://www.pat reon.com/8Ashes8

(no space)

You can read upto 7 Chapters in advance.