Shikigami Summoning in Konoha

Chapter 77: What's So Good About Girls!

Just as Katsuragi was about to step forward to calm Naruto, who had started arguing with Gatō again, he suddenly heard a soft and familiar voice calling out, "Katsuragi!"

"Hinata, what are you doing here?"

Katsuragi was surprised to see Hinata, who was out of breath. After receiving the mission, Katsuragi had of course informed Hinata. He wasn't sure how many days the mission would last, so he had only briefly mentioned that he would be leaving the village.

"I... I came to see you off."

As the eyes of Kakashi and Sakura turned towards them, Hinata immediately lowered her head in shyness. If not for the years of Katsuragi's encouragement, she might not have dared to come out at all.

"Hinata is always so thoughtful, heh heh."

Katsuragi didn't care about the onlookers, immediately stepping forward with a grin. He then noticed that Hinata was holding something in her hands and curiously asked, "What's this?"

"This is... a bento I made for you to eat on the way."

Hinata handed the beautifully wrapped bento to Katsuragi, shyly adding, "Remember to stay safe."

"Of course."

Katsuragi happily accepted the bento. Nearby, Kakashi, Sakura, and the others had various reactions.

Kakashi was reminded of his own past with Obito and Rin, recalling how Rin had once made bentos for him and Obito. Obito probably had the same smile then as Katsuragi did now, Kakashi thought nostalgically.

"Um, maybe I should learn to cook too, so I can make something for Sasuke," Sakura thought to herself, her eyes sparkling as she glanced at Sasuke, silently making up her mind.

"Maybe I could ask Katsuragi for some to eat?" thought Naruto, who hadn't brought much good rations. Considering Katsuragi's character, the likelihood of this plan succeeding was less than 0.01%.

Sasuke, with his hands in his pockets, looked from Hinata to Katsuragi and then to the clingy Sakura. He couldn't understand what was so appealing about girls—they were so bothersome, almost more so than the idiot Naruto. He shook his head and was the first to turn away, ready to start the mission.

"Are kids these days so precocious?" Gatō observed Sakura, who was starry-eyed, and Katsuragi, who was handing out relationship 'dog food.' He felt a twinge of guilt for not telling the truth, worried about potential dangers on the road.

But considering the state of his own country, Gatō steeled his heart. They were all ninjas, deemed elites by the Hokage, so they should be fine, right? Perhaps nothing would even happen on the road.

After giving Hinata a warm hug, which almost made her faint from embarrassment, Katsuragi cheerfully said, "Alright, you should head back now. We're about to leave, and I'll look for you as soon as we get back."

"Okay, take care on the road."

Hinata, her face flushed, barely managed to stammer the words. After watching Katsuragi walk away, she finally raised her head and revealed a sweet smile.

After bidding farewell to Hinata, Katsuragi and the rest of the team set off. The clear, cloudless sky made the journey feel less burdensome. Gatō, swigging from his bottle, made Katsuragi worry about what they would do if he got drunk on the way.

"Hmm, are they here yet?"

Being at the front, Katsuragi was the first to notice a puddle, which was clearly a disguise. Even if he hadn't known the original story, his school grades alone wouldn't have allowed him to be fooled by such a trick.

Kakashi also noticed the puddle at the same time. Seeing it, his gaze involuntarily hardened. The Third Hokage had specifically instructed him to take good care of Naruto, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, on this mission. Although the outside villages weren't fully aware, it was better to be cautious.

"Who will be the target?"

As Kakashi speculated, he observed everyone's expressions. Sakura and Naruto were bickering and walking, seemingly oblivious, while Sasuke looked indifferent, not paying much attention. When Kakashi saw Katsuragi slow down and give him an inquiring look, he understood that Katsuragi had noticed as well.

Kakashi subtly shook his head, signaling Katsuragi not to act rashly, wanting to first see who the opponents' target was—whether it was himself, Naruto, or the mission's client.

Noticing Kakashi's gesture, Katsuragi felt somewhat helpless. He really wanted to resolve the situation with the two ninja quickly. The bounty seals for the two had already been generated, each worth fifty thousand gold coins, a total of one hundred thousand.

"They seem to be chūnin, right?"

Katsuragi calculated internally. To be honest, their strength wasn't very impressive, and the price was somewhat surprising to Katsuragi, given that the most he had seen for beasts in the forest was only a few thousand gold coins.

As he thought this, Katsuragi had already walked past the disguised water puddle. He also heard Kakashi whispering beside him, "Let's see what their target is first. Don't act hastily."

Hearing Kakashi's words, Katsuragi nodded. Although he knew their target was Gatō and that there would later be an encounter with Zabuza, he couldn't tell Kakashi, as it would be difficult to explain how he knew this information.

It was just a matter of playing along for now. Once Kakashi identified the attackers' target, it wouldn't be too late for Katsuragi to deal with them.

The plot progressed as in the original story. Under Kakashi's deliberate arrangement, the demon brothers mistakenly believed they had dealt with him. Subsequently, they started attacking Katsuragi.

"What a headache, do I look that easy to bully?"

Reluctantly, Katsuragi used the Substitution Jutsu to disappear, just like Kakashi, although he couldn't do it as perfectly. Even Naruto wasn't fooled, but this at least temporarily diverted the demon brothers' attention away from him and towards their actual target, Gatō.

"It's about time."

While Naruto and Sakura were still stunned, and Sasuke was blocking the demon brothers' attack, Katsuragi silently nodded. He trusted that Kakashi had seen through their intentions.

To avoid being outdone, Katsuragi appeared beside the two with his fox ears and tails manifesting, and a single tail attack sent the brothers flying, spitting blood. It turned out that carrying the ghost gourd had inadvertently put him into a frenzied state, tripling his strength.

"I hope they aren't dead."

Katsuragi regretted it a bit. The mission didn't require killing; incapacitating the opponents was enough. To be honest, aside from his dazed use of kunai to kill a ninja once, he hadn't killed anyone else, and in a way, he really wasn't ready for it.

Fortunately, the two had stronger life forces than he expected. Although they were spitting blood profusely, they were still staring at Katsuragi in shock, seemingly amazed by his appearance and strength.

Before they could speak, Kakashi appeared and knocked them out with a chop to the neck.

"You've gotten much stronger, Katsuragi."

Looking at the state of the demon brothers, Kakashi squinted at Katsuragi, who had reverted to his normal appearance. When Katsuragi had sparred with him before, his tail attacks weren't as forceful. Kakashi wondered whether Katsuragi had hidden his strength back then or had grown stronger recently while training with Shizune.

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