The next day, Toshiro received the proof of leaving the village to purchase supplies sent by Uchiha Fugaku.
He set off for the "Empty Zone."
The so-called Empty Zone was once a human settlement long ago. It is said that due to reasons like war, the place gradually became deserted.
Later, it was taken over by a group of ninja cats, who have lived and thrived there ever since.
After leaving the village, Toshiro traveled for most of the day and finally reached the slightly concealed Empty Zone via a secret path.
In his mind, he recalled the records left by some elders in his family.
According to the records, Toshiro knew that the cooperation between the Uchiha clan and the ninja cat clan had been ongoing for a long time.
Even back in the Warring States period, before the establishment of ninja villages, both sides had signed a long-term cooperation agreement.
Due to their excellent ninja tools and intelligence system, they complemented each other well with the Uchiha.
The Uchiha clan provided them with military support, enabling them to survive in the chaotic Warring States era.
In return, they supplied the Uchiha with excellent ninja tools and intelligence support.
Considering the picky 'taste' of the Uchiha, one can imagine the quality of the ninja tools that met their satisfaction.
Moreover, thanks to their 'pet' identity as cats, they had a significant advantage in intelligence gathering.
Otherwise, the Uchiha would not have established a cooperative relationship with them.
However, their combat capability was not very crucial to the clan and seemed rather dispensable.
Passing through a small path, Toshiro reached his destination, noticing two little cats that had been following him subtly.
He took out a bottle of silvervine drink and a packet of dried fish he bought from the clan's grocery store from his backpack and placed them on the ground. To show his sincerity, he also displayed his 'Sharingan.'
"So, it's Uchiha!"
As soon as the leading tabby cat saw Toshiro's 'Sharingan,' it immediately let down its guard.
After sniffing around, it joyfully pounced on the 'snacks' Toshiro had prepared!
Silvervine is a scent that cats love very much, somewhat like catnip from the previous world and irresistibly attractive to these cats.
After the two cats devoured all the food Toshiro had prepared, he finally said, "I need to see Granny Cat; can you take me to her?"
Licking its paws and whiskers clean of the last bits of residue, as if savoring the taste, the tabby cat lazily responded, "If you are looking for Granny, no problem! Kikumaru, take over from here!"
As it spoke, it swatted the nearby cat, Kikumaru, who was still licking the bottom of the drink bottle, toppling it over.
Then it lazily perched on a nearby building, evidently not planning to lead Toshiro personally and instead handing over the minor task to its underling.
"Follow me, Uchiha ninja..."
Being bossed around, Kikumaru had no choice but to take the unfamiliar Uchiha to find Granny Cat.
Following the cat along the streets of the Empty Zone, Toshiro observed the surroundings.
There were shops, salons, restaurants, etc.
[Whether it's these cats or other summoning beasts, their ability to speak human language is quite strange. I wonder if it's due to chakra or natural energy?]
Listening to the familiar language occasionally ringing around, Toshiro found it curious but knew it was not the time to investigate.
Soon, Toshiro followed Kikumaru into the living room of a building.
In the middle of the living room sat a middle-aged woman in her forties. She had a long tobacco pipe and puffed on it rapidly.
Many kittens surrounded her, playing freely in the living room.
"Nice to meet you. I am Uchiha Toshiro. I look forward to your guidance…"
Formally greeting her, Toshiro presented the scroll sent by Uchiha Fugaku that morning.
Naturally, a 'cat' would deliver it to its destination.
"Well, as for these supplies, they should be ready in about a month. Come back to collect them by then."
"In that case, in a month…"
Having completed the clan leader's task, Toshiro didn't leave immediately but spoke up again.
"I submitted an intelligence gathering task through the ninja cats. How is it progressing?"
"Oh, so you were the one who commissioned that task…"
Seeing the task commission scroll handed over by Toshiro, Granny Cat curiously glanced at him but didn't ask further.
There were rules for task commissions, especially for intelligence gathering tasks.
After rummaging through the small table beside her, she found a scroll and handed it to Toshiro, then casually resumed smoking.
Unrolling the scroll, Toshiro carefully read through the records.
This task was commissioned through the ninja cats active within the village rather than Toshiro personally visiting the Empty Zone to find Granny Cat.
Since the Uchiha and Senju formed Konoha Village, the Empty Zone's intelligence system had been nearly abandoned, and Toshiro wasn't confident they could gather the information he wanted.
He hoped to see if there would be any unexpected gains.
Toshiro's task was to see if there were any areas with a large population of giant summoning beasts.
That's right, Toshiro wanted to find the 'Island of Forgetfulness' that appeared in the TV series.
If he remembered correctly, it was an island with abundant natural energy. The animals on the island became enormous.
People there even began researching an ultimate summoning beast!
However, the summoning beast eventually went out of control and ate everyone on the island.
In the end, the protagonist Naruto had to clean up the mess.
He wondered if Granny Cat had found the place.
Her subordinates were ninja cats, so they might be more convenient than finding it himself. He was quite hopeful.