Shikigami Summoning in Konoha

Chapter 75: "Kurama, I'm Going to Make You Wear a Dress!"

The three-tailed fox, already curious, immediately took the gourd from Katsuragi and cautiously sipped a mouthful. Seemingly pleased, she then, to Katsuragi's astonishment, chugged the rest of the sake in the gourd.

"Burp~"

After a loud burp, her fair and beautiful face instantly flushed red, her eyes glazed over with a seductive gaze. In a flash, she was beside Katsuragi, her snow-white tail wrapping around him as she playfully lifted his chin and cooed:

"Ah, Katsuragi, the more I look at you, the cuter you seem... I really do..."

Regretting his decision, Katsuragi wished he hadn't let the three-tailed fox drink, especially as he watched her drunkenly flirt with him, with Enenra and Yuki-onna snickering nearby.

"Fox sister, stop, go sit down."

With no other choice, Katsuragi resorted to issuing a command, as he couldn't allow a small yokai to harass him in his own courtyard.

"Alright, you win."

Seeing the three-tailed fox looking wronged, with tears welling up in her eyes, Katsuragi couldn't bring himself to be too harsh and conceded, "Do what you want then."

However, just as the three-tailed fox's expression changed and she was about to pounce on him again, Katsuragi quickly turned into smoke and moved away, then addressed Enenra and Yuki-onna: "Enenra, I have other matters to attend to; please take care of her for now, I have to go."

After leaving the courtyard and returning to his room, Katsuragi finally breathed a sigh of relief, vowing never to let the three-tailed fox drink again.

Later that evening, after dinner, Katsuragi sought out Kurenai to discuss the completion of Kakashi's test and his decision to initially follow her on missions. Kurenai, seeing that he was keen to join her team, did not object and informed him of the time and place to gather for the mission.

The next day, Katsuragi arrived at the designated meeting spot for Team 8.

"Good morning, Kiba, Shino, oh, and Akamaru, good morning to you too."

Influenced by Kakashi, Katsuragi didn't arrive too early. Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru were already there, but Kurenai and Hinata had not yet arrived, so he wasn't late.

"Morning, Katsuragi."

"Woof woof!"

Kiba and his Akamaru responded, while Shino simply nodded without speaking.

As Katsuragi was playing with Akamaru, Hinata arrived, and he immediately abandoned the puppy to attend to Hinata, which left Kiba and Shino (and the dog) feeling rather annoyed.

Fortunately, this feeling did not last long as Kurenai, unlike Kakashi, arrived five minutes before the scheduled time. Seeing that everyone was present, she nodded seriously and said:

"Alright, everyone is here. Let's begin Team 8's mission."

In almost all ninja villages in the ninja world, the standard missions are categorized into five levels: D, C, B, A, S, with S-rank usually appearing during wartime involving national secrets.

A-rank is similar, perhaps not as difficult as S-rank but still quite challenging, usually undertaken by Jōnin level ninja.

B and C rank missions are much simpler, generally personal requests that provide the main source of income for Chūnin in the village, while D-rank is even simpler, sometimes not requiring a ninja at all.

Katsuragi and the others, including the other two teams, were only eligible for D-rank missions, a typical practice in Konoha for freshly graduated Genin, even though Katsuragi's skills had already surpassed those of a Jōnin.

Thankfully, with Hinata's constant reassurance, Katsuragi felt he could endure the monotony. With her company, half a month passed by without him realizing.

During this period, Kurenai frequently attacked him with illusions to teach him. One time, she even went so far as to switch Shino and Hinata's places using an illusion. If Katsuragi hadn't been so familiar with Hinata's scent, he might not have recognized her.

Fortunately, he realized in time and managed to avoid any disgraceful actions, which made him no longer underestimate Kurenai's genjutsu. If it weren't for Hinata, he might not have been able to discern the illusions, given his limited experience in illusion combat.

Meanwhile, Katsuragi gained some understanding of the bounty seal during this period. Whenever he encountered wild animals that attacked him in the forest, it automatically generated a mission. A single animal provided few coins, but more could be earned from a group.

Since they were only performing D-rank missions, they never encountered bandits, and almost no one in Konoha showed him malice, so Katsuragi couldn't test the rewards for defeating ninjas.

Even Neji, whom he had once dressed in women's clothes, held no ill will towards him—unless Katsuragi dressed him up again, in which case he doubted Neji would ever forgive him.

That evening, as Katsuragi was practicing his chakra control, Naruto's loud voice suddenly echoed at the door.

"Katsuragi, are you home?"

"This guy..."

Katsuragi sighed, getting up. It had been about half a month since he last saw Naruto, as both their teams had been busy with their missions.

"Oh, Kurama," Katsuragi suddenly remembered something. The bounty seal generated missions whenever someone harbored malice towards him. To find out what kind of rewards he could get, why not use Kurama for a test?

He quickly went outside, inviting Naruto in while asking, "What brings you here?"

"Katsuragi, what kind of missions do you do every day? Kakashi always makes us pick up trash in the river and help weed. It's so boring," Naruto complained as soon as he entered, making Katsuragi chuckle.

"We do the same, and I know Shikamaru's team does too, so stop complaining. After all, we've just become Genin."

"So you're the same," Naruto responded, slightly disappointed, then leaned in close to Katsuragi and whispered, "When are you joining our team, Katsuragi? Then we can go to the old man together and ask for a tougher mission, okay?"

"Wave Country mission, huh?"

Katsuragi thought silently, feeling that the timing might be about right, given Naruto's impatience. He replied, "Let me talk to Kurenai-sensei about it, and I'll join your team in a few days."

"Really?" Naruto cheered, then excitedly added, "Ha, now let's see how Sasuke can act so high and mighty."

"By the way, how are things with Sasuke? Sakura hasn't been interrupting you two, has she?" Katsuragi remembered the many photos he had developed and stored, asking with a grin.

Naruto gave Katsuragi a puzzled look, not quite understanding how Sakura could affect his relationship with Sasuke, and then responded, "That guy is still as arrogant as ever. Ugh, I don't get why Sakura likes him so much."

Katsuragi laughed and then got up to fetch a drink for Naruto, saying, "I'll get you some water, just a second."

As he walked to the kitchen, Katsuragi didn't immediately fetch the water. Feeling the seal on Naruto, he suddenly appeared before Kurama, who was feigning sleep, and checked the still untriggered bounty seal. Thinking aloud at the door, he shouted, "Kurama, are you there? When you get out, I'm going to make you wear a dress!"

With Kurama's furious roar in response, the bounty seal, as Katsuragi expected, generated a task.

End of Chapter 75