When the school day ended, Tōshirō went straight home. As usual, he needed to check if anyone had secretly entered the house.
He noticed that the dust on the windowsill had been slightly wiped away. Feeling a sense of danger, Tōshirō thought to himself, "Oh no, has a thief broken into my home?"
"Meow, meow..."
Tōshirō paused for a moment and followed the sound, only to find that an orange cat had entered his home without him knowing when.
Tōshirō let out a sigh of relief, realizing that it was just a cat.
Stray cats were not uncommon in the area where he lived.
The Uchiha clan had always had a good relationship with the ninja cat clan, and many members of the clan used ninja cats as their summoned beasts.
The adults did this, so the children were also influenced, and when they chose a pet, the first choice was always a cat.
Tōshirō chased the stray cat out of his home and didn't pay much attention to the matter.
He wasn't worried that this ninja cat was spying on him.
If it really was spying, the cat wouldn't have made a noise and alerted him to its presence.
Using a ninja cat to spy on him? Who would be crazy enough to resort to that?
He wasn't someone of great importance.
True, he had good talent, but without awakening his ice techniques, no one sane would send someone to spy on him.
Shaking his head, he closed the window and drew the curtains, acting as if he were a thief.
After ensuring that no one was around, he bit his thumb and made a cut on his palm, then pressed his hand to the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
With a soft whoosh, a cloud of white smoke rose, and when it cleared, a white vixen appeared out of nowhere, the same charming vixen as before.
Tōshirō wasn't able to control any other summoned beasts, so he resorted to using this vixen as a second option.
When the vixen arrived in the new environment, she paused to look at Tōshirō's face, and her eyes sparkled brightly as she joyfully exclaimed, "Is this the outside world?"
"Yes, this is my home," Tōshirō replied, then asked, "How's your training with your grandmother going on the reverse summoning technique? Can you help me travel to the Polar Ice Realm?"
"Not so fast; there are still many chakra-related things I'm learning."
The charming vixen had a blood connection with Bōshi and had inherited her talents. After discovering her roots, she began training with her.
There were many generations between Bōshi and the vixen, and since calling Bōshi 'great-grandmother' several times was complicated, the vixen opted to simply call her 'grandmother.'
"Then, when you go back, can you ask your grandmother to reverse summon me there?"
To return to the Polar Ice Realm, Tōshirō had to use the vixen as a communication channel and then have the summoned beast there perform the reverse summoning technique to bring him back.
The space available for training at home was too cramped, and he needed to go there to continue his training.
"What? I just got here, and now you want me to go back? Is this how you treat your guest?"
The vixen responded with a slight hint of anger, not wanting to return to the outside world so soon.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'll make you a meal."
The vixen's eyes lit up, and she wagged her white tail.
Tōshirō apologized to her and took a fish from the refrigerator that he hadn't finished eating. He placed it on a plate and offered it to her. "Remember to ask your grandmother to summon me after you finish eating."
The vixen sniffed the fish but didn't start eating.
Tōshirō saw her hesitation and asked, "Is there a problem?"
"I want it cooked."
"Haven't you been eating it raw before?"
"Things have changed now. Grandma said that if I work hard in my training, I might be able to transform into a human someday. So, I should start getting used to the human way of life."
"But you haven't turned into a human yet!"
Tōshirō grumbled, feeling annoyed.
The vixen clearly responded, "But cooked food is tastier."
Tōshirō had no response to that.
It's easy to get used to luxury, and hard to return to simplicity.
The vixen's tastes had become more demanding because of Tōshirō's food, and if he had known from the start, he wouldn't have given her cooked food.
But there was no way around it. Since he needed her, Tōshirō decided to meet her request and started cooking the food.
While waiting for the food, the vixen wandered around the house, curious about everything. Shortly after, she heard a young voice from the kitchen: "The food will be ready soon, so don't wander too much. And if you eat it all, don't cry, because I won't make it again."
"Alright~"
The vixen responded enthusiastically and was on her way back to Tōshirō, but something caught her attention under the bed due to her short stature. Out of curiosity, she extended her paw and pulled out something, discovering it was a book. When she flipped through its pages out of curiosity, she felt like she had uncovered a new world.
Tōshirō, noticing the vixen's delayed response, felt something was strange, so he left the kitchen and went to his room, only to find the furry creature lying on the floor, oblivious to what she was doing.
As Tōshirō curiously approached to see what she was up to, he discovered she was reading a book. He couldn't help but laugh at the situation; the book was filled with words, so could she really understand them? Then he realized something embarrassing: it wasn't important whether she could understand the words; it was enough if she understood the pictures.
This was the very book that Jiraiya insisted on giving to Tōshirō. Although Tōshirō initially refused it, he had been thinking about whether he should get rid of it. But he felt that throwing it away would be a shame (this feeling was deleted), especially since it was a gift from someone else. So he decided to stash it under his bed, never expecting the vixen to find it.
While the vixen was engrossed in the book, suddenly, a hand reached out and snatched it away.
The vixen was upset that she hadn't finished reading and angrily said, "I wasn't done yet!"
Tōshirō coughed twice and said, "This kind of thing isn't suitable for kids like you."
The vixen nonchalantly replied, "Actually, I've seen things like this in real life."
Tōshirō was stunned and said, "What? Where did you see this?"
The vixen replied, "In the snow."
Tōshirō was surprised and thought, "Who could do such things in cold weather? Don't they feel cold?" But he quickly realized that the vixen was referring to animals she saw mating in the wild.
After seeing the images in the book, the vixen concluded, "It seems that humans and animals aren't so different in this regard."
Tōshirō felt embarrassed and said, "Uh... uh..." not wanting to continue this conversation, so he changed the subject: "Do you want to eat or not? If you don't, I'll eat the food myself."
As soon as the vixen heard about the food, she completely forgot about the book. After eating and drinking, she expressed her desire to go out and play.
Tōshirō grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up with a laugh, saying, "Don't you ever get tired?"
The vixen mischievously responded with a sly smile and said, "Please, master. The world is so big, and I want to see it."
Tōshirō placed the vixen on the ground and sighed a little, saying, "You only call me 'master' when you want something from me. Just this once, I'll allow it. Don't do it again."
The vixen, who had lived in the snow all her life, was excited to go outside. So, her desire to go out was understandable.
The vixen was extremely happy and rushed toward Tōshirō, hugging him.
Due to this sudden action, Tōshirō fell backward and felt embarrassed. Then the vixen licked his cheek with her pink tongue as a sign of affection.
The warm, soft feeling of the tongue on his face caused a bit of itchiness, so Tōshirō gently pushed her away and adjusted his position, saying, "But before we go out, we need to agree on three rules."
The vixen eagerly responded, "No problem, three rules or even three hundred, whatever you want."
Tōshirō laughed and said, "Do you even know what agreeing on rules means?"
The vixen replied, "No."
Of course...
Tōshirō explained some important things to her, warning her that if she didn't follow the rules, he wouldn't take her outside again.
The ability of animals to speak in human tongues was common, so Tōshirō wasn't worried about her being discovered. But he was concerned about one thing: that no one should uncover her true origin.
After hearing these warnings, the vixen promised not to reveal her secret.
Since then, Tōshirō had been traveling back and forth between the village of Konoha and the Aurora Field to continue his training.
(End of Chapter)
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