Chapter 152: Black Rat

"Swish!"

Familiar entrance, familiar attire, familiar rat mask.

Inside Tsunade's office, a large black rat abruptly appeared. No, wait, it was a masked ninja wearing a black rat mask, dressed completely in black ninja gear, right down to his black flak jacket.

Kato Yufeng, who had been waiting for the acquaintance for a good half of the morning, had finally arrived.

The ANBU ninja from the Root organization with the codename Black Rat—or as Kato Yufeng liked to call him, Old Black, the giant black rat, Shimura Danzo's courier ninja.

Although his entrance, attire, and mask were all familiar, the way Black Rat made his entrance this time was definitely not the familiar routine he had used when he first appeared.

After flashing into the room, Black Rat did not dare to let his eyes wander. He walked straight toward the desk and bowed respectfully to the light-blue-haired man sitting behind it.

"Lord Kato Yufeng, Elder Shimura Danzo requests your presence. He is waiting for you at the Root headquarters."

Black Rat's actions were not only proper and respectful, but his speech was also remarkably polite, his articulation clear and standard. It was no worse than when Black Rat reported for duty to his direct superior, Shimura Danzo, and if one were to make a meticulous and careful comparison, it might even be much better.

After finishing, Black Rat stood obediently and stiffly in front of the desk, staring down at his own toes.

*May the Sage of Six Paths bless me, may the Ancestor of Chakra bless me, may the God of Shinobi bless me, and ensure this delivery mission goes smoothly.*

*You can do this, Black Rat!*

While bowing his head and awaiting Kato Yufeng's reply, Black Rat silently prayed to all the legendary gods of the shinobi world, begging for their blessing and good fortune.

This warmly decorated office, carrying a faint and pleasant fragrance of fresh vegetation, was the most terrifying place in the world for Black Rat—without a single exception.

Every time Black Rat came here to deliver a message from Shimura Danzo to Kato Yufeng, Kato Yufeng would invariably find all sorts of fault with him, and then he would be subjected to a moderate yet painful lesson.

Black Rat felt that being disciplined by Kato Yufeng wasn't necessarily a big deal; in his view, it was only natural for a superior ninja to discipline a subordinate, for the strong to discipline the weak.

However, every single time Kato Yufeng disciplined him, Black Rat would fall victim to a strange malady—a bizarre condition of being simultaneously hyper-energetic and overwhelmingly drowsy. That sickness was simply too agonizing to endure.

For so long, every single visit to Kato Yufeng resulted in this peculiar affliction of hyper-energy mixed with lethargy. It wasn't as though Black Rat had never suspected Kato Yufeng of casting some sort of ninjutsu or secret art upon him.

Yet, when Black Rat consulted the specialized medical ninja within the Root organization, they could find nothing wrong with his body. Aside from feeling sleepy when the sickness struck, everything else was completely normal.

When Black Rat reported this to the Root organization, he merely received an order to keep monitoring the situation, and nothing more ever came of it, ultimately leaving the matter unresolved.

Of course, this bizarre malady of being simultaneously hyper and drowsy was the handiwork of the Salted Fish Power residing within Kato Yufeng's body.

Naturally, Kato Yufeng didn't do this out of boredom or a desire to intentionally bully Black Rat. He genuinely treated Black Rat like a black rat—a test subject, a little black laboratory rat used to test the specific applications of the Salted Fish Power.

When Black Rat first delivered a message to Kato Yufeng, his arrogance and rudeness led to him being slightly disciplined by Kato Yufeng, which accidentally allowed Kato Yufeng to discover the utility of the Salted Fish Power.

From that day on, Black Rat and the Salted Fish Power formed an indissoluble bond, because every time Kato Yufeng saw him, he was reminded of that first accidental triggering of the power.

Staying true to one's original aspiration, keeping one's mission firmly in mind, seeing things through to the end, and forging ahead with grit were the fine virtues that a new generation of Konoha ninjas must possess in order to inherit the Will of Fire.

As a cutting-edge and powerful elite jounin of contemporary Konoha, Kato Yufeng naturally possessed all of these fine virtues. Therefore, every time he saw Black Rat—especially when Black Rat interrupted some good private time between him and Tsunade—he would secretly try out various methods of utilizing the Salted Fish Power on the poor fellow.

It could be said that Black Rat had made indelible achievements and contributions toward helping Kato Yufeng master the Salted Fish Power within his body and, over the past half-year, accidentally activate the Salted Fish Constitution within the shinobi system.

***

In Tsunade's office at the Konoha Hospital, Kato Yufeng was currently looking down with a critical eye at a work of literary art in his hands. After earnest appraisal, he concluded that compared to the heroine in the book, his own girlfriend Tsunade was much more fragrant—especially the milky fragrance.

*Tsk tsk, Tsunade is definitely the sweetest, but this secret taijutsu technique in the book looks pretty interesting. When should I practice it with Tsunade?*

While contemplating whether he should practice the secret taijutsu from the manual with Tsunade in the future, Kato Yufeng used his peripheral vision to observe Black Rat standing before him.

A fair amount of time had already passed since Black Rat entered Tsunade's office, yet Black Rat remained standing rigidly in front of the desk with his head bowed.

Aside from uttering that initial line, Black Rat hadn't said a single extra word.

While Kato Yufeng could afford to be utterly shameless in front of Tsunade, he still cared about his dignity at times—especially when it came to maintaining appearances regarding matters that intersected with Shimura Danzo. On those occasions, he valued his face quite a bit.

Every time Kato Yufeng used Black Rat as a test subject for the Salted Fish Power, he would always find some pretext to pick a flaw in Black Rat's behavior before administering a minor punishment, conveniently using him as a little lab rat on the side.

Although the people behind Black Rat would undoubtedly suspect that his bizarre symptoms were linked to Kato Yufeng, at the very least, procedurally, they could never catch Kato Yufeng in the act or find any concrete dirt on him.

Aside from better familiarizing himself with the Salted Fish Power in his body, Kato Yufeng's reason for using Black Rat as a test subject was also a tentative probe directed at Shimura Danzo.

As for whether Shimura Danzo might use this to study the effects of the Salted Fish Power, Kato Yufeng would be more than thrilled if the old man managed to figure out a thing or two.

By this point, more than half a year had passed since Kato Yufeng first acquired the Salted Fish Power. Aside from growing increasingly proficient in its use and activating the Salted Fish Constitution, Kato Yufeng's understanding of the power remained half-understood at best.

*Damn it! This giant black rat has gotten smart. This time he avoided every single flaw I used to pick on. It's hard to find an opening.*

*Could it be that being exposed to the Salted Fish Power for a long time not only makes people lazy and sluggish from time to time, but also boosts their intelligence? I do feel like I've gotten a lot smarter lately...*

While entertaining these wild, whimsical thoughts in his mind and continuing to observe his experimental rat, Kato Yufeng waited a little longer. Still unable to find a reason to throw a tantrum, and seeing that the time was right, he decided not to torment his little test subject any further.

"Alright, I know. I'll be right there!"

These were the first words Kato Yufeng had spoken since Black Rat entered the room. As he spoke, he waved a hand at Black Rat, signaling that he had successfully passed this time and was dismissed.

"Lord Kato Yufeng, then this subordinate will take his leave!"

Black Rat's reply was still delivered in a voice full of respect, his articulation clear and standard. After finishing, he bowed respectfully.

"Swish!"

Just as Black Rat had arrived in the office, he vanished from it.

It wasn't that Black Rat had suddenly developed such high standards of civilization and politeness that he maintained a respectful attitude even upon leaving; it was simply that Kato Yufeng was far too cunning, having pulled similar tricks on him in the past.

Before, he had once let Black Rat leave without doing anything, only to suddenly pick a flaw the moment Black Rat felt overjoyed, and then...

"Tsk tsk, this giant black rat really seems to have gotten smarter!" Kato Yufeng muttered to himself, his eyes lingering on the spot where Black Rat had stood.

Following that, Kato Yufeng stood up, prepared to leave and head to the Root headquarters to see Shimura Danzo.

Glancing over toward the sofa, Kato Yufeng noticed that Tsunade had already quietly fallen asleep there, looking utterly exhausted and in desperate need of sleep, with a shimmering thread of saliva even trickling down the corner of her mouth.

Looking at the scattered, sporadic fallen leaves drifting past outside the window, Kato Yufeng turned around, pulled a thick blanket from the cabinet beneath the bookshelf, and walked over to the sofa, carefully and meticulously tucking it around Tsunade.

Taking one last look at the crystal-clear drop of saliva at the corner of Tsunade's mouth, Kato Yufeng thought she looked for all the world like a sleeping little milk kitten.

"Silly little milk kitten," Kato Yufeng whispered, calling her by the new nickname he had given his girlfriend, while bending down to gently kiss her soft pink lips and wiping away the saliva at the corner of her mouth by the way.

*Mmm, cherry-flavored. Huh? When did that change? Wasn't it grape-flavored just a short while ago?*

Harboring his questions, Kato Yufeng's figure vanished from Tsunade's office.

A chilly autumn wind swept past outside the window, sending two withered, yellow leaves drifting down from the treetop.

"Yufeng... No... Mmm."

Tsunade, already fast asleep, let out an unconscious murmur.

***

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