Becoming a God by Increasing Favorability in Naruto

"So cute! These two ninja cats are absolutely adorable!"

Shizune's eyes sparkled as she finally saw the two ninja cats perched above her.

"Is that so? Meow~"

The ninja cat named Denka, wearing blue clothes with the kanji for "shinobi" on its forehead, licked its paw lazily. It had been a long time since it had seen any ninja other than Cat Granny.

"Meow!"

The other ninja cat, Tsui, leaped down from the pipe, landing gently on Shizune's shoulder and nuzzling her affectionately.

Shizune reached out and scratched Tsui's head, and the little cat purred in delight.

Seeing this, Denka's eyes lit up, and it jumped down as well, landing squarely on Furen's shoulder.

"Hm." Furen was caught off guard for a moment before reaching out to scratch under Denka's chin.

"Ahhh… just a little to the left… yes, there! Perfect…"

Denka's eyes narrowed to slits, its expression full of bliss. Even as a ninja cat, it was still a cat at heart, completely unable to resist a good petting session.

After happily petting Tsui for a while, Shizune remembered something and asked, "Furen, didn't you mention having a ninja cat as your summoning animal? Maybe it knows these two!"

Furen nodded, setting down the dazed Denka, who had completely melted from the attention. He bit his finger and performed a summoning jutsu.

With a puff of smoke, a large-faced cat, slightly larger than before and noticeably rounder, appeared.

"Meow~ What is it this time?"

Compared to Denka and Tsui, the large-faced cat's voice was far lazier. Its size had noticeably increased, with its already prominent face now even rounder.

"Huh?! It's you!"

Tsui, still perched on Shizune's shoulder, opened its eyes wide in surprise.

Denka, who had been lounging on the ground licking its paw, also looked over, equally astonished.

"Big Face! You've come back!"

The large-faced cat blinked lazily, then looked at Furen with a mix of surprise and curiosity.

"Furen... why are you here in the Empty Zone?"

"I didn't know your name was 'Big Face' until now," Furen commented, lifting the cat and pinching its chubby cheeks.

Big Face puffed up its cheeks and meowed in protest.

"Big Face, why did you leave the Empty Zone?" Furen asked as he continued squishing the cat's face.

Denka, still lounging, nonchalantly replied, "Because Big Face eats too much. Cat Granny expelled it from the clan~."

"Meow~ That's right," Tsui chimed in, nodding earnestly.

Shizune couldn't help but laugh, her voice ringing like bells.

Furen raised an eyebrow. "How much does Big Face eat?"

Denka answered, "One cat's food for three days… Big Face eats it all in one sitting."

Furen stared at the cat in disbelief, pinching its face again. "I can't believe you eat that much."

"Meow… Let's go see Cat Granny. She's been waiting for you," Denka said, getting to its feet and leading the way deeper into the building.

The dark, abandoned corridors gradually became warmer, lit by faint lights. Along the way, a few smaller cats appeared.

These younger cats hadn't yet become ninja cats. They were still learning, chasing balls of yarn or other toys, occasionally glancing at the visitors. Unlike the ninja cats, they hadn't learned human speech yet, so their conversations were incomprehensible.

"Meow. This is Cat Granny's place."

Denka stopped in front of a heavy curtain, surrounded by many ninja cats on guard duty.

Wooden crates were stacked around the area, some partially open to reveal an assortment of weapons inside.

Furen and Shizune pushed aside the heavy curtain and entered. Inside, they were greeted by the sight of an elderly woman wearing a cat-shaped hat, surrounded by a group of cats.

This was Cat Granny, the matriarch of the ninja cats in the Empty Zone.

"Hello, Cat Granny. We're ninja from Konoha."

Shizune politely handed over the mission scroll, bowing slightly as she introduced herself.

"Ah, Konoha ninja. It's been a while."

Cat Granny's voice was aged but warm as she removed the pipe from her mouth.

"Since the incident with the Uchiha clan, Cat Granny rarely deals with Konoha ninja," Denka whispered to Furen, clearly developing a fondness for him.

Suddenly, Cat Granny's gaze fell on Big Face. She stood up, stepping closer.

"Big Face, you've finally returned."

Big Face remained silent, its expression subdued.

"It seems there's more to Big Face's departure than being expelled for overeating," Furen thought to himself, doubting the surface explanation.

Cat Granny bent down and stroked Big Face's head gently. "Don't be sad. That mission wasn't something you could've handled back then."

Without a word, Big Face dissolved into a puff of smoke, releasing itself from the summoning jutsu.

Cat Granny sighed, tapping her pipe against her palm. After a moment, she regained her composure, smiling warmly at Furen and Shizune.

"This mission is in your hands now, Konoha ninja."

She pulled out a thick book with a paw print emblem on the cover.

"This is the Paw Print Compendium. It's a collection of paw prints from every ninja cat. Only two prints are missing now."

Cat Granny flipped through the book, showing them pages filled with paw prints, each accompanied by the name of the corresponding cat.

"The paw print you need to collect belongs to the leader of the cats in Tenshu Tower, Nekoyou. Its paw print will go here."

She handed Furen a large sheet of paper, nearly two meters tall.

"This will be used to capture Nekoyou's paw print."

Shizune blinked, holding the paper up. "Does this cat really have such a massive paw?"

Cat Granny nodded. "Nekoyou is nearly the size of a small tailed beast."

"Oh, right. I almost forgot!"

Cat Granny handed them each a pair of cat ear headbands.

"Wear these, and you'll be able to understand cat speech."

She gave Shizune a pink pair and handed Furen another pink set.

Furen stared silently at the pink cat ears in his hand.

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T/N:

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