Chapter 111

"What is going on!"

Mizunuki Hikari felt a jolt in his heart, casting a suspicious gaze toward Terumi Mei and Mizunuki Ryosuke.

On the other side, the big orange cat that had been accompanying Ryosuke and Terumi Mei the entire time naturally understood the shy feelings currently held by the young girl.

Upon hearing Terumi Mei's words, a look of disbelief appeared on Mizunuki Hikari's face.

Consequently, upon seeing the expression on Hikari's face, the big orange cat revealed a "gossipy" look.

Could it be that this young man, who appeared so "cool and arrogant," harbored strange feelings for the girl in the "Demon King's" arms?

The way the group had addressed each other just moments ago also let the big orange cat know of the master-disciple relationship between Hikari and Ryosuke.

The keywords "snatching love by force" and "master-disciple rivalry" floated directly into the big orange cat's mind, causing its fire of gossip to burn fiercely.

Just as the big orange cat's face took on a "good show is about to start" look, the impatient Hikari spoke up.

"Hey!"

"Terumi Mei! You don't actually want to apprentice under Master, do you!"

"I'm telling you, don't even think about it! You're nowhere near good enough to apprentice under Master!"

Yet, who would have thought, Mizunuki Hikari said this to Terumi Mei with a look of vigilance.

As Hikari's voice fell, the atmosphere in the air became somewhat awkward.

Especially the big orange cat on the side, which was looking at Mizunuki Hikari with a horrified expression.

"Don't think that just because you're injured, I'll go easy on you!"

"I know that with your savage constitution, woman, there's absolutely no problem!"

"You aren't faking it, are you? Trying to win Master's sympathy to take the opportunity to apprentice under him?"

If the previous words only made one doubt Mizunuki Hikari's emotional intelligence, this sentence that followed undoubtedly directly embodied Mizunuki Hikari's "straight-man nature."

The big orange cat looked at Mizunuki Hikari in disbelief; he never imagined there could be such a "rigid" creature in the world.

"Bang!"

The moment Hikari's voice fell, Ryosuke's iron fist had already smashed into Hikari's head.

"You must treat injured teammates with kindness!"

Mizunuki Ryosuke stopped Hikari's straight-man behavior, but he didn't take these things to heart.

"Yes."

Mizunuki Hikari clutched his head, not daring to continue running his mouth.

The tit-for-tat between Mizunuki Hikari and Terumi Mei in the squad was not a one-time occurrence.

This time, Hikari's "kicking someone while they're down" behavior was also within Mizunuki Ryosuke's expectations.

Terumi Mei, who had long been clear about Mizunuki Hikari's "true nature," although momentarily angered to the point of trembling, did not take Hikari's words to heart; instead, she merely shot a look of disdain at Mizunuki Hikari.

At the same time, she secretly vowed in her heart that once her body recovered, she would definitely make Mizunuki Hikari pay.

Although they were in the same squad, because Takeda Yoichi had known Ryosuke for a long time, he was an old subordinate.

And Mizunuki Hikari had established a "master-disciple" relationship with Ryosuke.

Therefore, Ryosuke could address both of them by their first names, and as such, continuing to call Terumi Mei by her full name seemed to appear somewhat distant.

After thinking for a moment, Ryosuke directly agreed to Terumi Mei's request.

"Fine, Mei."

"Please take care of me in the future."

Mizunuki Ryosuke said to Terumi Mei with a light smile, his tone carrying his usual gentleness.

"Mm."

Terumi Mei nodded gently, and a suspicious blush appeared on her cheeks once again.

After handling everything, Ryosuke turned his head and looked with cold eyes at the big orange cat, who was still immersed in shock on the side.

Having witnessed Ryosuke's terror in the Mist Space, the big orange cat naturally did not dare to act presumptuously in front of Ryosuke again.

"I'm sorry!"

"I'll take you to find your teammates right now!"

The big orange cat knelt on the ground in an extremely human-like posture, begging Ryosuke at a very fast speed.

Seeing this, Ryosuke did not say much, merely withdrawing the killing intent from his body.

The big orange cat also tactfully walked in front to lead the way.

Before long, the group saw Takeda Yoichi, who was still tied up and unconscious, hidden in a corner of the rock cave.

On the other side, the continuous disturbances caused by the Mist Zone also attracted the attention of the cat clan's high-level officials.

A ninja cat with an extremely burly physique, looking like a small calf, rushed toward the rock cave at high speed.

To increase his speed, this ninja cat used the Yang Release secret technique that the big orange cat, Meitaro, had used before.

Two pairs of limbs grew out again at the joints of his shoulder blades and thigh bones.

For a time, eight claws touched the ground simultaneously, and the speed was so fast it seemed to fly.

After entering the rock cave, this "Devil Muscle Cat" found the control room inside the cave in just a few steps.

At this moment, inside the rock cave's control room, all the cats were in a state of chaos.

"The mist concentration in the forest zone is continuously increasing and has already started spreading toward the foothills!"

A ninja cat operating the control room's joystick shouted in a panicked tone.

"Oh no, oh no!"

"The mist in the forest is about to break through 'Level 3 (Deep Mist)'!"

"And the mist concentration in the Mist Zone is still increasing! It has already exceeded 'Level 4 (Mist Haze)'!"

"Soon the level will reach 'Level 5 (Mist Nightmare)'!"

Another ninja cat said just as frantically, their tone filled with helplessness.

At this moment, the ninja cats in the rock cave were all from the younger generation of the cat clan, and most were at a loss for what to do in this situation.

Furthermore, the "leader," the big orange cat, was currently trapped in the Mist Zone.

Just then, the burly Devil Muscle Cat appeared in the control room.

"What on earth is going on!"

A formidable aura erupted from the Devil Muscle Cat, directly suppressing the chaotic scene.

"Boss Cat!!!"

Instantly, the crowd of ninja cats trembled in place, as if they had seen some terrifying creature the moment they saw the Devil Muscle Cat.

"Where is Meitaro?!"

The extremely burly Boss Cat, who didn't look like a cat at all, questioned in a stern tone.

"Boss, Boss, he is in the Mist Zone..."

A ninja cat said with a trembling voice, swallowing hard as he looked at Boss Cat's robust biceps.

"Bastard!"

Boss Cat cursed angrily, then prepared to rush toward the Mist Zone.

But before he could leave, the concentration of the mist began to drop rapidly.

Before long, the dense fog that had been approaching "Level 5 (Mist Nightmare)" began to plummet sharply, until finally, the number on the indicator showed "zero."

"Huh?"

Boss Cat froze in place.

On the control room's monitor, it could be clearly seen that the dense fog that had originally permeated the forest was also constantly dissipating.

This indicated that it was not a malfunction of the detectors in the control room.

"What on earth is going on?"

The cat's curious nature made Boss Cat start to become curious as well.

After rescuing Takeda Yoichi, Mizunuki Ryosuke turned his gaze to the big orange cat beside him.

Knowing full well the terror of Ryosuke, the big orange cat shivered repeatedly, offering a fawning smile with eyes full of flattery.

Seeing this, a flash of sharpness flickered in Ryosuke's eyes.

The ninja cat clan, the summoning animal clan of the First Mizukage, Bai Lian.

At the same time, they also had some mysterious connection with the Sage of Six Paths, being proficient in Yin-Yang Release techniques.

At present, the intelligence about the entire ninja cat clan displayed before Ryosuke was only this much.

But there was still much information worth digging into, especially regarding the entire Mizukage assessment—what kind of obstacles had this group of ninja cats set up, and what roles would they play next?