As Fuwafuwa and Shisui walked deeper and deeper, Shisui got to see several shadows, some constantly passed by the two and casually looked at Shisui with a unique glint in their eyes, while others were looking at the two from far away, watching with cold eyes, but one thing was common in all of them, none of them dared to approach closer yet they all kept a respectful posture towards Fuwafuwa.
These are all cat summons. Each of them has the strength to match the strength of a low-level Genin, and their tentatively strongest person is equivalent to a low-level Chunin according to human Shinobi’s standards.
But Shisui isn’t much interested in these cats, he already has Crows as his signature Summons, so adding Genin or Chunin-level cats in his summons wouldn’t be any benefit for him, if he has to sign another summon contract then it has to be with some powerful summon animal, like that of Gamabunta that Jiraiya uses, or maybe Manda used by Orochimaru, or maybe Aoda or OkinaButa that Kuroto has signed a summoning contract with… else why would he bother taking someone who would only drag him down?
So, without paying much attention to these cats, Shisui continued to follow Fuwafuwa.
Fuwafuwa observed Shisui, and noting that he didn’t pay much attention to these cats, she nodded in appreciation… Fuwafuwa doesn’t really like these cats… If it is up to her, she would rather ‘shoo’ them all away so that they don’t litter around the entrance of the shrine.
A while later, the two arrived at a narrow dark passage, Shisui looked at the passage, but he couldn’t see anything… like anything-anything… It was pure black with no light passing by… like a black hole.
“Meow~”
At the entrance of the narrow passage, Fuwafuwa stopped and glanced backward, after making sure that Shisui was obediently following behind her, she spoke softly, “Follow me and make sure to keep up…” Then after a pause, she spoke in a deep tone of voice, “If… you are unable to keep up, or get distracted midway, then you will be lost forever…”
Shisui gulped nervously, but after taking a deep breath he nodded and readied himself… if it is about keeping up, then Shisui is quite confident in his speed, after all, he is the second fastest Shinobi in Konoha, so he should be able to keep up with Fuwafuwa, right?
As for the matter of getting distracted? His training as a Shinobi should help him keep focused.
Seeing that Shisui nodded, Fuwafuwa said nothing more and jumped into the darkness.
Whoosh
Nekomatas have lived in this mysterious Domain for generations, and only with their unique sensory skills, and mastery over their unique Senjutsu can one traverse through these pathways… but Shisui neither has any understanding of Senjutsu, nor does he possess their unique sensory skills, therefore, he can only rely on Fuwafuwa, as such he immediately picked speed, and followed after Fuwafuwa.
Whoosh
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe two figures, quickly dispersed into darkness one after another.
In this darkness, Shisui wasn’t able to see anything, nor was he able to sense anything. It felt as if there is nothing present here, at the same time, he also seems to be able to sense everything, as if everything is present here.
This state felt unrealistic, at the same time, panicked him. Because this state was not a good thing, because in this state, either his brain will receive no information and cease to function, or his brain will not be able to process too much information at once and will be lost… whichever thing may happen, there will only be one result, he will lose track of Fuwafuwa, and as she said earlier, he will forever be lost.
“Calm down… breath in… breathe out… breath in… breathe out… breath in… breathe out… breath in… breathe out… Now FOCUS!” after muttering this sentence to himself many times, Shisui calmed his mind, and released all his thoughts… Then his attention was finally on Fuwafuwa who was already about 100 meters ahead of him, while he was standing still at the entrance.
Realizing that he has only taken a single step, Shisui gulped in horror… because, to him, it felt that he had been in this place for hours.
“This place is really creepy!” after muttering to himself, Shisui hurried forward and closely followed Fuwafuwa.
‘My? He is able to keep himself sane here without my help? He does have potential, at least.’ Thought Fuwafuwa in surprise, then she increased her speed in order to test Shisui’s limits.
Shisui did not disappoint her and kept following behind her closely and soon both of them were running at full speed.
Of course, this was very difficult for Shisui. He has to resist the chaos of this darkness, at the same time, he has to keep track of Fuwafuwa’s presence and make sure to keep up with her. Doing all three tasks at the same time puts a little pressure on him… however, he has to get out of here, and for that, he just gritted his teeth and preserved.
After a while of running at their full speed which almost lasted an eternity for Shisui, the scene suddenly changed, the darkness disappeared, and light emerged.
Coming out of the darkness, Shisui immediately collapsed on the ground in a cold sweat, and took deep breaths “That… that was too scary!”
Fuwafuwa said nothing and calmly waited for Shisui to recover. If she is honest, then she is really surprised that Shisui managed to preserve until the very end. So, her opinion of him has increased, and she is willing to wait for him to recover.
After a while, when Shisui recovered, he looked at the scenery in front of him… they seem to be present at the entrance of a Shrine… And behind him is a large Torii gate.
The design and appearance of the shrine somewhat reminded him of the ruined shrine he and Itachi were present at before as they were searching for the traces of Sword of Totsuka and Yata Mirror.
‘Is it the same shrine? Or is it different?’ just as Shisui thought, his attention turned towards people… or rather, more cats(?) who were guarding the Shrine.
These cat guards also sensed the arrival of Shisui but noting that he is accompanied by Fuwafuwa, each of them bowed respectfully and gave way for them to enter the Shrine.
While walking towards the Shrine, Shisui noted something, ‘The cats here are different from the ones outside…!’
Fuwafuwa seems to have noticed Shisui’s doubts, and said, “The ones you saw outside were just some cats who can fight and can be used as cannon fodder class summons… but the ones here are Nekomata. We may look similar, but we are very different. For an analogy, the difference between a Cat and a Nekomata is similar to a monkey and a human in a human’s case.
One basic physical characteristic you can use to differentiate between a cat and a Nekomata is by noting the number of tails they have. A Cat has only one tail, while a Nekomata generally has two tails…”
Hearing Fuwafuwa’s words, Shisui looked at the cat guards and noted that all these cat guards have two tails as she said, which means they are all Nekomata, then he also looked at the Fuwafuwa’s butt, and she too has two tails, which means she is also a Nekomata.
Understanding this, Shisui asked, “Fuwafuwa-san, you mentioned that a Nekomata generally has two tails… does that mean a Nekomata can also have more than two tails?”
Fuwafuwa nodded, “Hn, it’s rare, but it happens. Well, anyway, come along, we are almost there.”
Shisui nodded then asked again, “So, is this Kuroka-sama also a Nekomata?”
Fuwafuwa nodded, and patiently explained, “Correct, but not accurate. Kuroka-sama is a Nekoshou, a special variant, among Nekomata. Nekoshou is the strongest type of Nekomata. Currently, there are only two Nekoshou in existence, the first is naturally, Kuroka-sama, while the other one is Kuroka-sama’s younger sister, Shirone-sama.”
Shisui nodded in understanding, then followed Fuwafuwa into the Shrine.
After walking for a while, the two arrived outside a gate, the gate is very large, and Shisui noted that its height is at least 50m, therefore, he was wondering if this ‘Kuroka-sama’ he is going to be meeting now is gigantic in size?
And while Shisui was busy in his thoughts, Fuwafuwa gently knocked on the door.
Knock Knock
Soon, a playful womanly voice sounded from the other side of the gate, “Fuwafuwa? Come in, nya~”
Hearing the voice, Fuwafuwa gently pushed open the gate to open and walked in, Shisui followed her closely.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe inside is a shrine hall, at the center of which is a large Sacred Seat.
On the Sacred Seat lay a beautiful young woman on her stomach, dangling her legs back and forth, it seemed as if she is in a playful mood as she curiously observed Shisui who was closely following Fuwafuwa.
The woman has a voluptuous figure, long black hair with split bangs, and hazel gold eyes with cat-like pupils. A pair of Black Cat ears, and two black tails swayed from left to right.
She is wearing a black kimono, a yellow obi, a set of golden beads, and an ornately detailed headband. Her Kimono features a red interior and it is open at her shoulder, giving viewers a clear view of her large pair of breasts.
And contrary to what Shisui had expected, ‘Kuroka-sama’ is not a giant creature, but rather a woman with the body size of a human, of course, he didn’t exclude the possibility that she might have used a transformation Jutsu to take this form.
After walking closer to the Sacred Seat, Fuwafuwa respectfully bowed, “Kuroka-sama, just as you instructed, I have brought the kid.”
While observing Shisui with her hazel gold eyes, the Nekoshou named Kuroka nodded at Fuwafuwa, “I see Fuwafuwa, you have done good work, Nya~”
Fuwafuwa respectfully bowed then stepped aside.
All this while, Shisui was cautiously observing the Nekoshou named Kuroka. His instincts were telling him that this Nekoshou is terrifyingly strong… one wrong move and it would result in his death, therefore, Shisui made sure to not look at the places he shouldn’t and only focused on her face. He didn’t mean to be disrespectful to her.
There was a long silence in the hall, neither the Nekoshou named Kuroka nor Shisui spoke anything. And after a while, when Shisui couldn’t bear it any longer, he asked, “May I refer to you as Kuroka-sama?”
Kuroka nodded lightly and prompted Shisui to continue.
Shisui turned to look at Fuwafuwa, then, turned back to face Kuroka, and said, “So, um, Fuwafuwa-san briefed me about where I am? It seems to be a place called Nekomata Domain(?) I swear I wasn’t trespassing! I just accidentally ended up here while I was on a mission.”
Kuroka nodded, “I am aware, nya~”
Shisui sighed, ‘At least the other party isn’t taking me as a trespasser’, then with a relieved smile, he said, “And, Fuwafuwa-san also mentioned to me that only, you, their leader, Kuroka-sama can lead me out of here… Please forgive me for my rudeness, but I would like to go out of here and return to where I was before, as soon as I can… due to well… certain reasons.”
Kuroka nodded, “Fuwafuwa did not lie to you, nya~. Leaving the Nekomata Domain without my permission is impossible… However, if you wish to leave, then it is not a simple matter, nya~”
Shisui nodded, and asked, “Then is there something that needs to be done for me to leave the Nekomata Domain?”
Kuroka nodded, and asked, “Tell me something Uchiha Shisui, do you know what is Natural Energy?”
Shisui nodded, “Well, I do know bits and pieces about Natural Energy.”
Kuroka nodded, and said again, “Well, if you know something about Natural Energy, then it makes things easier. To leave here, you need to be able to see the flow of Natural Energy… If you can see or sense the flow of Natural Energy, then you can pass through the gate that leads outside, but if you can not see or sense the flow of Natural energy, then you will never be able to leave this domain as you will forever be lost in the darkness.”