Chapter 22: Chiryo's Appointment, Ruthless Slaying of the Cat
In the following days, Hyuga Chiryo never once approached Uchiha Tonan. She sat in her seat like a statue—silent, withdrawn, and motionless. Her blank stare stayed fixed on Tonan, and her pale face held a morbid calm. It was as if she'd become a lifeless doll.
Her eerie stillness began to make Tonan uneasy.
"Chiryo, you haven't been sleeping well lately?" Asuma asked, concern evident in his voice.
Chiryo turned her lifeless eyes to him. After a brief pause, she gave a faint, ghostly smile, and then motioned with a single finger for him to come closer.
Asuma leaned in, curiosity piqued.
"…Asuma, do you like me?" she whispered hoarsely. Her voice was raspy, but in Asuma's ears, it was like a genjutsu-induced dream.
"I—I mean… haha…" Asuma scratched his head nervously, his cheeks reddening. This had come out of nowhere—so fast that he was at a loss for words.
"Then, can you help me with something?"
Asuma puffed out his chest like a proud Chuunin. "Of course! Whatever you need, I got you!"
Chiryo's smile faded in an instant. Her eyes went cold, and in a chilling voice, she said, "Find a way to kill Mina's cat."
Asuma nearly choked on his spit.
"…Huh?!" His face went pale.
"I'm just kidding," Chiryo suddenly giggled, her smile returning like a mask sliding back into place.
Asuma let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Sheesh… you scared me there."
Before he could say anything else, Chiryo handed him a neatly folded note.
"Give this to Tonan-kun. And don't read it."
"Sure thing."
Without overthinking it—after all, everyone in class saw Tonan and Mina as a couple—Asuma delivered the note.
"Chiryo asked me to give this to you," he said, placing the paper on Tonan's desk.
Tonan unfolded it and read the message:
Tonan-kun, I want to talk to you alone. Tomorrow night, at nine o'clock. I'll wait for you under the waterfall on the east side of Hokage Rock. See you there.
Tonan glanced back at Chiryo and gave a small nod. Her ghost-white face lit up with a faint smile.
He wasn't interested in childish love triangles, but as any skilled predator knows: before the fangs, comes the smile. A hunter never drops their disguise too early.
The next day—October 6th—was the academy's regular holiday. Hatake Sakumo was off duty, which gave Tonan a golden opportunity. That morning, he visited the Hatake residence to study alongside Kakashi. It was nearly evening by the time he returned home.
After dinner, Tonan headed to the Uchiha clan's northern training ground to meet Mina for a late-night session.
Meanwhile, outside the clan compound, Chiryo approached, carrying a small bag of cat food.
"This is Uchiha clan territory. What are you doing here?" Two patrolling guards intercepted her.
Chiryo flinched like a startled cat. She bowed her head, her cheeks red, and mumbled, "I… I came to see Mina… to feed… the cat…"
One guard eyed the cat food and waved dismissively. "Feed the cat, huh?"
Chiryo nodded.
The guards clearly didn't see any threat from a timid little Hyuga girl and let her through. "Alright, go in."
"Umm… it's my first time here," she added nervously. "I don't know the way. Could you…"
"No time. I've got a patrol route to finish. Mina's house is over there—look for two cherry blossom trees out front."
He pointed, then walked off.
"Thank you…" Chiryo bowed deeply to his retreating back and followed the direction.
She soon arrived at a modest house. Mina's parents had died during the Second Great Ninja War, leaving her orphaned. After entering the academy, her assigned guardian had been removed—she now lived alone.
There was no one home, save for the small white kitten lying at the door.
Creak.
The gate wasn't locked—typical for inner clan territory. Unless a family was away long-term, most simply latched the door.
Chiryo pushed it open.
Swish.
The kitten spotted her and dashed behind a pillar, poking out just enough to peek. When it saw the familiar cat food bag, it immediately let down its guard and scampered forward.
It recognized Chiryo—one of Mina's classmates. Every day, Mina brought the kitten to class, except during training with Tonan. The kitten was used to the presence of other academy students.
Mew.
It rubbed against Chiryo's leg, eyes locked on the food bag. It then flopped onto the ground, belly up, wriggling and purring—its best "please feed me" act.
Chiryo stared down at it, unmoved.
The kitten wriggled harder, believing this was how it earned treats. It had done this for Mina and had always been rewarded.
A cold smile touched Chiryo's lips. She knelt slightly.
"What a clever little thing," she murmured softly.
The kitten wiggled in joy, expecting new, tasty food.
A shadow suddenly fell across it.
Bang.
Mew!
Chiryo stood, silent, looking down at the still, broken form of the kitten. Blood slowly spread into the dirt.
"…Pity. You don't belong to me."
She dropped a folded note on the corpse.
Without a backward glance, she picked up the untouched bag of cat food, stepped out of the yard, and gently closed the door behind her. By the time she reached the street, her expression had softened back into the image of a fragile, well-mannered Hyuga girl.
At that moment, Tonan was still with Mina, going through her training drills. Even though he'd cultivated multiple messenger pigeons to monitor parts of the village, it was impossible to keep eyes on everything.
He had no idea what Chiryo had just done.
Time passed. The stars took their places in the night sky.
9:00 p.m.
After wrapping up Mina's training, Tonan made his way toward the waterfall east of Hokage Rock—the rendezvous point in Chiryo's note.
From the forest canopy nearby, a flock of white pigeons burst into flight, soaring silently over the rooftops of Konoha.