Not far away, you could see a tall, cat-shaped fortress standing in a forest, contrasting sharply with the lush greenery. The dreamy feeling made it seem like a fairy-tale world.
Since the battle took place near Cat Castle, the noisy sounds of fighting had already spread there. This alerted the cats of Cat Castle, as evidenced by the cat guards pouring out continuously from the castle.
After the disturbance, Kaguya lost interest in sneaking in and now only wanted to complete the mission quickly.
"Who are you?"
"Go away."
"We don't welcome humans."
"If you don't leave, we won't be polite."
As Kaguya approached Cat Castle, a group of cat guards in armor and armed with spears surrounded her, pointing their weapons at the two girls.
Although they looked fierce and held weapons, they still seemed like cute cats.
"Um, is there a cat named Xiaohuan here?" Kaguya took out a piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it to show them. It depicted a beautiful cat with a wedge-shaped head, large, watery eyes, smooth and shiny fur, looking very pretty, much like a Ragdoll cat from Kaguya's original world.
When she took out the picture, the cats instantly went into an uproar, chattering noisily and glaring at Kaguya.
"These hateful humans want to take our princess."
"Unforgivable."
"Kill them."
Seeing the cats getting worked up, Kaguya was curious. A princess among cats? But this cat did look very beautiful, making people want to pet it. It seemed perfect as a pet.
While Kaguya was still pondering, the cat guards with spears launched an attack. A swarm of cats, seemingly quite imposing, charged at them. Many cat archers with bows were also on the castle walls.
The arrows rained down like petals scattering in the wind, whistling toward Kaguya.
But this was of no use to Kaguya, like a baby swinging its fists, causing no harm.
Kaguya waved her flawless, white arm, and a repulsive force burst from her palm. The cat guards were knocked back, flying away like dumplings dropping into the water, and cries of pain filled the air.
At this point, the arrows had already reached Kaguya. The cat archers smiled, thinking it was too late for the hateful humans to dodge.
"What?"
They hadn't expected that Kaguya didn't even dodge. The arrows stopped as if blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to advance further.
Kaguya turned her head, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. The arrows in the air suddenly reversed direction, shooting back along their original path.
"Thud, thud, thud."
Blood splattered.
The cat archers were wiped out, but because Kaguya held back, they weren't killed, though a little suffering was warranted.
The arrows, as if they had eyes, were controlled by chakra threads. With her mental strength, Kaguya could easily control hundreds or thousands of arrows.
The cat guards' high morale seemed suddenly choked off, their momentum drained. Their faces showed fear. They hadn't expected the human before them to be so powerful. Humans had indeed broken in before, but none could compare to this girl.
The atmosphere became tense.
"Should we kill them all?" Black Zetsu asked seriously.
The cats immediately became more nervous. Although they still held their spears, they couldn't find any sense of security, and some cats even had shaky legs.
"It's them," one of the cats in the crowd suddenly said. "They were the ones in the cat forest earlier."
"Ah!"
The cats all took a step back, looking at the two girls in front of them with fear. They had already seen the battle in the distance earlier, and its intensity was terrifying. At the time, they were relieved that they were not the enemy, but now it seemed too early to conclude.
After dawdling for so long, Kaguya gradually lost her patience and frowned, saying, "If you know what's good for you, hand over your cat princess, or don't blame me for being rude."
"Give up. Even if we die, we won't hand over the princess," shouted a cat at the front. Of course, it would be more convincing if his voice wasn't trembling.
"Do you really think I don't dare to kill you?" Kaguya said with a frown, her expression unfriendly.
"Wait," a soft, sweet voice suddenly sounded.
A beautiful little girl appeared behind the cat guard team, with crystal-clear eyes, fine eyelashes, a delicate nose, pink lips, fair skin, and long black hair in two strands that reached down to her thighs. She was also a twin-tailed girl.
Moreover, her ears were not like human ears but more like a cat's. Her hair was smooth and shiny, with a pink bow on her head. She wore a black Gothic dress, with the exquisite pleats fluttering in the wind. Although she looked young, around ten years old, her figure was unexpectedly good, with an elegant and curvaceous shape. Her chest, in particular, was surprisingly large and full for her age.
"Princess, please go back. It's too dangerous here."
"We will protect the princess to the death."
"Protect the princess to the death."
"Protect the princess to the death."
The timid cat guards seemed invigorated after seeing this little girl, their morale suddenly soaring, and their previous fear vanished without a trace.
"I'll go with you, but please don't hurt them." The little girl's eyes were filled with tears, and she clasped her hands at her chest, looking pitiful.
The scene made Kaguya's eyelids twitch. What was this feeling of coercing someone into a difficult position? It seemed like she was committing some heinous crime.
But was this twin-tailed cat-eared girl the cat mentioned in the commission sheet? It didn't seem like it. Could this girl be a cat demon?
"No, Princess."
"Even if we die together with them, we cannot let you be harmed."
The cat guards' eyes turned red as if they were about to fight Kaguya and her companions to the death.
Kaguya's eyes narrowed. She could sense a strong mental force affecting these cats, causing them to behave abnormally. Otherwise, they would have fled long ago.
Moreover, she sensed a familiar aura on this little girl but was not quite sure.
The cats were agitated, seemingly having forgotten their previous fear, their eyes filled with anger as they stared at Kaguya. Kaguya's eyelids twitched. Why did she feel like she was the villain and the little girl was a hero sacrificing herself to save her people?
Kaguya snorted softly, the nebulae in her eyes slowly rotating, exuding a strong chill, and an overwhelming aura spread out.
The cats shivered under Kaguya's gaze, as if doused with cold water, calming down instantly, and they became silent.
"Since you've decided, let's go." Kaguya smiled and reached out her hand to the cat-eared girl.
The cat-eared girl hesitated, but finally, she reached out her fair, tender little hand and held Kaguya's outstretched hand.
The cats watched helplessly as Kaguya took away their beloved princess.