Chapter 281: No More Acting

"Fat Cat, why did you come along?"

Lian Ye had only just left the cave a short while when he saw a black Fat Cat appear before him.

"Lord Madara let me travel with you, meow," Dao Ba said, his eyes sparkling with joy.

Lord Madara is truly so kind to it!

Not only does it get paid leave, it can eat gourmet food every day; this mission is practically a dream job for it!

Especially the food that kid Lian Ye makes is the best this cat has ever tasted…

Thinking that, it instinctively stuck out its pink tongue to lick.

Lian Ye's mouth twitched; without a doubt he knew this Fat Cat had been sent by Madara Uchiha to spy on him…

That dead cat is an old spy, yet it still pretends to be clueless.

It practically rubs his intelligence on the ground.

At this point there's no choice; traveling alone is boring, so having a Fat Cat as companion isn't bad.

"Let's go, Fat Cat."

Since being bought off with a pile of grilled fish, Dao Ba no longer cares about what Lian Ye calls it.

Fat Cat is just a Fat Cat; as long as there's grilled fish, that's enough.

"Kid, where are we going, meow," Dao Ba asked, tilting his head and scratching.

Lian Ye took a map from his ninja tool bag, unfolded it, and said, "First stop of the trip, we head to Rain Country."

He actually wants to see what the legendary Ninja World Demigod is all about.

Lian Ye had long ago wanted to meet Shanjiaoyu Banzang, but various reasons delayed him.

Now he can take the chance during the trip to go see him…

If he remembers correctly—Second Ninja World War was launched by Rain Hidden Village.

Rain Hidden Village leader Shanjiaoyu Banzang, under the banner of resisting invasion, declared war on Iron Country, Sand Hidden Village, and Konoha Village.

The war lasted from Konoha year 32 to Konoha year 37.

Because Rain Hidden Village sits at the junction of the three nations, the villages naturally set the battlefield in Rain Country.

Thus, within Rain Country, ninja from several major ninja villages occasionally appear; some choose to kill defenseless civilians, making the already poor village even worse.

That might be the tragedy of a small country, huh?

Shanjiaoyu Banzang, for the sake of his nation and village's development, ultimately declared war on all three countries simultaneously.

In this great war, Gangshou, Zilaoye, and Orochimaru teamed up against Shanjiaoyu Banzang, earning the name "Konoha Three Great Ninja".

It must be said, Shanjiaoyu Banzang does have some strength; not only does he dare to declare war on three countries at once, but he can also suppress the combined assault of the three with his own might.

Even though Gangshou and the others are still in their growth phase, Banzang's power is undeniable.

Lian Ye only knows the general storyline of the Ninja World and isn't clear on many specific details.

In his recollection, early Shanjiaoyu Banzang was decent, but later, due to aging and a shift in mindset, he fell under Tuan Cang's manipulation, chose to suppress the Akatsuki, causing its leader Miyan to die, and ultimately being killed by Pain, who was controlled by Zhang Men.

"Why do we have to go to Rain Country?" Dao Ba frowned, a bit displeased.

As everyone knows, Rain Country is a perpetually rainy nation with a very humid environment.

Such conditions aren't friendly to a cat; its fur gets soaked, turning it into a drenched cat…

Other small cats would be fine; they could perch on a human's shoulder.

But Dao Ba's size is like a large dog, so he can't be cradled by humans like other cats.

Lian Ye looked at the Fat Cat's unwilling expression, smiled and said, "I'll buy you a raincoat later."

"Is such a backward environment really worth touring?" Dao Ba muttered, then reluctantly agreed.

Who told him that Lord Madara had already assigned the mission?

And it also hopes to eat gourmet food every day by staying beside Chu Zi.

A little rain on delicious grilled fish does no harm; it can just shake twice to fling the water off.

And so, one person and one cat set off toward Rain Country.

Dao Ba, while taking a piss, relayed intel to Madara Uchiha: "Lord Madara, that kid Lian Ye is preparing to travel to Rain Country; I'll contact you again then."

Lian Ye stood nearby, witnessing the whole thing, and could only turn his face away, pretending he knew nothing.

What a good fellow, really a good fellow!

This Fat Cat never took him seriously; now it won't even act as a lookout?

If he dares to imitate the Fat Cat—sending a message to Madara Uchiha in front of Qianshou Feijian—he'll instantly be torn apart by the enraged Qianshou Feijian.

If not for sparing Madara's face, this Fat Cat would have been driven away long ago.

"Kid, did you just see that?" Dao Ba saw Lian Ye not far away, and his eyes narrowed to slits.

Only then did it realize its voice had been a bit loud.

But so what? If there's a problem, just go to Lord Madara!

As Madara's capable subordinate, it made such a serious oversight.

Seems the bribery with grilled fish from Lian Ye caused this; next time such a situation must not happen again.

Its master is Madara Uchiha, not the Chu Zi in front of it!

At least that's how it is now…

"N-no, I didn't see anything," Lian Ye, adhering to the principle that fewer matters are better, was too lazy to argue with a Fat Cat.

Since Madara Uchiha had Dao Ba watch him, it shows he hasn't given up on recruiting him. He believes that next time, Madara will invite him to join the "Moon's Eye" project.

That way, Zhi Cun Tuan Zang and the others won't be in danger.

"That would be best, meow," Dao Ba nodded satisfactorily, thinking the kid was rather perceptive.

Luckily Lian Ye didn't go to complain to Madara; otherwise its cat life would have been over.

If Lord Ban learned of it, he would definitely think it accomplishes too little and causes too much trouble, and would therefore choose to command other cats, no longer using this capable officer.

To prevent this from happening, we can only threaten the kid to shut up.

Lian Ye stared at Fat Cat with some suspicion, suddenly unable to figure out Madara Uchiha's purpose in doing this.

If they really want to monitor him, why send this stupid cat over?

Lian Ye, unable to understand, stopped trying; after all, Madara Uchiha won't make a move against him.

Perhaps it's just boredom; it's not impossible either…

Inside the cave.

"Madara, why did you send Dao Ba away?"

Senju Hashirama looked at Madara with puzzlement, not understanding why he let Dao Ba follow Lian Ye.

"We can't stay here forever," Madara Uchiha explained, "If Dao Ba follows Lian Ye, we can still find him later…"

Since Hashirama doesn't try to keep Lian Ye, he can only devise a way to encounter Lian Ye again.

With Dao Ba along, finding Lian Ye is a piece of cake.

Madara actually saw Hashirama's petty scheme to keep him from contacting Lian Ye, but just didn't care.

Senju Hashirama's expression darkened at the words; Madara indeed still kept Lian Ye in mind.

Had he known earlier, he should have stopped Dao Ba from leaving.