"Can I ask you what exactly you are planning to do?" Nekobaa asked after leading Suzuki into the private back office of her shop, the hidden headquarters for all the Ninneko (Ninja Cats).

Naturally, besides the dozens of intelligent cats staring at him with unblinking, curious eyes, there was one small, human figure peeking at him from behind a shoji screen. She looked incredibly curious, a faint, cute blush dusting her cheeks.

"Hmm..."

Suzuki didn’t have much of a thought, but he had to say, the world of Naruto was like... a giant circle connection of nepotism, especially when he looked at this little girl. As for her cute blush, he completely ignored her reaction.

Let’s wait till the Shippuden,’ he thought inwardly, as at the current Naruto timeline, it was just too dangerous.

"Ah, she is my granddaughter," Nekobaa explained, noticing his gaze. "Tamaki, be a good girl and prepare some tea and snacks for our guest."

"Ah, yes, Grandma!" Tamaki nodded quickly, scurrying away, but not before stealing one last, lingering glance at Suzuki.

"Don’t mind her. You are an incredibly handsome young man, after all," Nekobaa chuckled.

Even the old woman had to admit that Suzuki’s appearance was striking. Having supplied weapons to the Uchiha Clan for decades, she had seen her fair share of devastatingly handsome men. But Suzuki operated on a different level. He exuded a gentle, highly intelligent aura, perfectly accentuated by his glasses. Yet beneath that scholarly exterior, his physique was imposing—like an Adonis molded specifically for the brutal world of shinobi.

"Thank you. Your granddaughter is also quite cute."

"Do you like her? If you’re interested, I certainly wouldn’t mind if you chased after her."

"...How old are we again?" Suzuki deadpanned, utterly speechless.

Nekobaa just laughed heartily before her expression shifted back to business. "Now then, care to tell me why you want to hire all of the cats?"

"Do I have to tell you?"

"...Not really, no."

It was true; Suzuki didn’t owe her an explanation. She was just a shopkeeper. But he figured it was good business to bring her into the fold. The Ninneko needed a human caretaker, and Nekobaa was a seasoned professional.

"Don’t worry," Suzuki reassured her, adjusting his glasses. "I have no intention of sending them on dangerous combat missions or infiltrating heavily guarded enemy compounds. Their lives will not be in danger."

"I am very glad to hear that."

Nekobaa studied him closely. Suzuki was a profoundly mysterious young man. Despite her extensive information network, she knew shockingly little about him. He seemed like a polite boy whose missions ended swiftly and efficiently.

But what kind of jutsu did he specialize in? What was his combat style? And most importantly, what unique talent did he possess that convinced Hiruzen Sarutobi, the ’God of Shinobi’, to take him as a personal disciple?

Her intelligence on him was dangerously low.

If Suzuki knew what Nekobaa was thinking, he would have rolled his eyes. Information wasn’t just about combat strength and jutsu. There were far more exploitable details: a target’s favorite foods, their preferred type of women, their secret vices. In the world of business and espionage, the smallest, seemingly irrelevant detail could easily become a deadly weapon if the right opportunity arose.

"Let me be completely transparent, so all of you understand exactly what I need," Suzuki said, his voice cutting through the quiet room.

"Yes," Nekobaa nodded.

Dozens of cats leaned forward, their tails twitching in unison. They were dying to know what this wealthy human wanted that required the services of their entire species.

"My good faith comes with an absolute consensus," Suzuki stated, his voice dropping to a chillingly cold register. "I am trusting all of you today because of Shiro and Kuro. But if any of you ever betray me, or leak my plans, do not think you can hide. I have memorized all of your faces, your unique scents, your chakra signatures. No matter where you run, I will ensure your lives end in a way far more painful than simple death."

"..."

The room fell dead silent. Even the air seemed to freeze.

"Now then," Suzuki smiled warmly, as if he hadn’t just threatened a room full of felines with excruciating torture. "Do you still want to listen to my proposal?"

Gulp!

Would they listen?

"Yes, nyaa!" they chorused back.

It was impossible to stop a cat’s curiosity. Even though Nekobaa looked on helplessly, she knew that as long as they operated in good faith, they would be immensely rewarded. Frankly, she didn’t dare make an enemy of Suzuki anyway, especially given his high-ranking connections in Konoha.

"Information," Suzuki said simply. "That is what I want you to gather."

"Information?"

"I don’t care about stolen weapons, assassination targets, or village patrol routes. I want you to gather information on the markets."

"Markets, nyaa...?"

The cats tilted their heads in unison, thoroughly confused. This was an entirely new concept for them.

Suzuki smoothly explained his vision. He already had the capital and the infrastructure in place, and he was currently establishing a massive logistics company. But simple logistics didn’t generate true, world-altering wealth. He needed to integrate an intelligence network to transform his logistics firm into a Sogo Shosha.

Sogo Shosha.

The term was likely unfamiliar to the shinobi world, but in modern Japan, it referred to a colossal, monopolistic business conglomerate that traded in absolutely everything—" from noodles to satellites."

So, how would the Ninneko help him build this empire?

In the feudal society of the Naruto universe, there was no internet, no centralized stock market, and incredibly slow communication. The entire global economy ran on information asymmetry—whoever knew a vital fact first, won. By utilizing the Ninneko as an invisible, omnipresent global spy network, Suzuki wouldn’t just be a merchant. He would build a terrifyingly powerful trading company that effectively monopolized the economies of the Five Great Nations.

With cats stationed in every Daimyo’s court and every Hidden Village, he would have a real-time radar for global supply and demand.

If a cat overheard the Raikage ordering troops to the border of the Land of Earth, Suzuki would instantly know a skirmish was imminent. Days before the news reached the public, his company would quietly buy up all the medical supplies, iron ore, and non-perishable rations in the surrounding neutral countries at rock-bottom prices. When the war officially broke out, and the villages were desperate for supplies, he would sell the stockpiles back to them at a 500% markup.

If a cat in the Land of Wind reported a massive, unseasonal sandstorm destroying the oasis crops, Suzuki would immediately buy massive quantities of grain from the lush Land of Fire and ship it to the Land of Wind, monopolizing their food supply for the season.

It was pure, unadulterated arbitrage—the act of buying an asset in one market and simultaneously selling it in another at a massive premium, entirely fueled by the Ninneko’s real-time spy network.

"From sewing needles to steel plating," Suzuki declared, his eyes gleaming with ambition. "I will sell everything that makes money. I will take absolute control over energy, metals, machinery, textiles, chemicals, and food. But I cannot do it alone. I need your eyes and ears. So, do you want to join me and quietly control the entire world economy, or do you want to stay in this sketchy, abandoned city managing a black-market weapons shop?"

Nekobaa and the cats stared at him in absolute, jaw-dropping shock.

Shiro and Kuro, however, puffed out their furry chests with immense pride.

Yep, that’s our master, nyaa!

Without a shadow of a doubt, Nekobaa knew that the Ninneko had just encountered their new god.

While Suzuki was busy outlining his plans for global economic domination with a room full of cats, Tsunade was waking up in her hotel room back in the city.

Groaning softly, she stretched her heavy, sluggish body, fighting off a mild hangover. Subconsciously, she rolled over, pushing her massive, suffocating breasts out of the way as she cracked the window open slightly.

Every morning, she used this specific vantage point to secretly check on Suzuki. She would usually catch her young disciple either working, training relentlessly, or stepping out of the bathhouse.

She felt like a massive pervert peeking at him every day, but she simply couldn’t help it. It felt weird to start her day without seeing him.

But today was different. The courtyard was completely empty.

"Where is he?" Tsunade muttered, a strange, unsettled feeling twisting in her chest.