Shinobinekoden: A Ninja Catgirl’s Tale

   Returning to the place where she had fought and seeing that no person or beast was heading in that direction, Lucy began to search the pockets of the five human corpses, hoping to find a map or clues about their mission. Unfortunately, she found nothing useful on them, so her only option was to find another group of humans to follow to find out the location of their camp.

   'Damn it. I got my hands dirty for nothing. Now I have to buy a cleansing potion again...' Lucy thought as she kicked the corpse of the group's leader.

   After consuming a cleansing potion and getting rid of the blood stains, Lucy pondered on which direction she should go.

   'Since the other four wandered around this area looking for Jacky, who was eaten by the lizard, my ocular ability to identify tracks is of no use in finding the right direction. Besides, their tracks might not lead directly to their camp if they spent several hours exploring the forest. Hmm, what solution can we find to this problem?... What did my grandfather used to say? If you can't lead the horse to water, you can bring the water to the horse. Yes, maybe it's better to make them come here. Considering that they are here to find clues related to a lionkins' settlement, there's a good chance they'll come if they see something unusual happening here, like a big fire...'

   With no better idea, Lucy gathered a large pile of dried branches in a less wooded area and then placed the five corpses on it to ensure that the smoke would be strong enough.

   Once everything was ready, Lucy bought a canister of gasoline and a lighter from the Ninja Shop, and after dousing the pile with fuel, she immediately set it on fire, the smoke rising hundreds of meters into the air.

   'I think the smoke will be visible from a distance of over 10 kilometers, so it's impossible not to be noticed by someone. Now, all I have to do is hide in a place where I can see what's going on and wait for someone to come and investigate.'

   Satisfied with the result, Lucy left the location of the fire, which already started to smell like barbecue, and moved about 100 meters away. She then climbed to the top of a giant tree, from where she could clearly see the situation around the bait she had created.

   Although Lucy's plan was far from perfect, as there were many unknown factors she couldn't consider, it had a favorable outcome for her rather quickly. In less than an hour, a group of three men, equipped similarly to the previous four she had killed, arrived at the fire and began analyzing the situation.

   "What the hell happened here? From the bloodstains, I can tell there was a fight. Could it be that the lionkins found out about us and attacked one of the scouting groups? But then, why did they start this huge fire and throw the corpses in it? It doesn't make sense to act so conspicuously if they wanted to attack...." the man at the front, dressed like a knight with a huge shield, asked the two following him at a distance of two meters.

   "I don't know, boss. It seems a bit strange. It's like someone wanted to lure us here to ambush us. But I'm sure there's no one within 100 meters, and I haven't seen any traps, so it can't be that..." the shorter man on the right, armed with two knives and dressed like an assassin with a black hood nearly covering his head, replied.

   "So, what could be the objective of those who started the fire? Maybe they just wanted to delay our return to camp? Yes, that makes sense. They probably planned to attack the camp after eliminating as many reconnaissance groups as possible, and they used these diversions to prevent us from regrouping. Hurry, we must return immediately! The attack may have already started!"

   "But boss, shouldn't we check whose bodies these are?" the third man asked.

   "Do you think we have time for that? We'll figure out who's missing when we get to the camp. Let's move fast before it's too late!"

   After their leader decided to head back to the camp at full speed, the group of three disappeared among the trees, and Lucy, who had been observing from a distance, immediately followed them, maintaining a distance of about 200 meters.

   'Since I was too far away, and they weren't speaking loudly, I have no idea what they discussed. But it seems they decided to hurry back to report to their superiors about what they found here. Well, at least I hope so...'

   Lucy followed the three men for about an hour, somewhat surprised by their diligence in delivering the obtained information as quickly as possible. Little did she know that the reason for their haste was that their leader had an overactive imagination and was firmly convinced that Lucy's diversion was part of a larger plot meant to destroy their base of operations.

   Although this initially made Lucy's job easier as the three men didn't try to check if anyone was following them or to move stealthily, once they reached their camp, they started shouting loudly that they were about to be attacked, putting the entire camp on high alert.

   Looking from a distance of 100 meters at the camp where about 30 people started patrolling with drawn swords, some of them accompanied by hunting dogs sniffing every bush around, Lucy realized that the situation wouldn't be as straightforward as she expected.

   'Did they realize they were being followed? No, I don't think they spotted me. Most likely, they were alerted by the fact that five of their comrades were killed. Anyway, it'll be nearly impossible for me to infiltrate even if I use the Bending of Light skill.'

   Lucy had no choice but to wait until nightfall, hoping that the camp's occupants would calm down, allowing her the opportunity to infiltrate and gather information about the lionkins' village and their mission in the forest.

   Unfortunately, even after nightfall, 10 men continued patrolling with torches in hand, and around the large tent in the center, where the mission leader likely resided, five people with levels between 40 and 50 were always present.

   Since infiltration into the camp seemed impossible, Lucy thought that the only way to obtain information would be to kidnap one of the patrolling men and make him spill everything he knew. To ensure no problems would arise, Lucy purchased a potion from the Ninja Shop that completely masked her scent for half an hour, as well as a smoke bomb with a poisonous effect that would render the person inhaling the smoke unconscious for an hour.

   'I think I'm ready. Now, I just need to wait for one of the patrols unaccompanied by a dog to move at least 100 meters away from the camp...' Lucy thought while observing the situation from a large tree, hidden among its leafy branches.

   Since the patrolling men carried torches with them, Lucy could precisely see their locations, and it wasn't challenging for her to locate an individual who met all the criteria to be kidnapped.

   Without letting the opportunity slip away, Lucy advanced quickly toward the man, using both the Steps of Light and Bending of Light skills to decrease the chances of being detected. Once she was within 10 meters of him, she threw the somnolence smoke bomb in front of him, causing him to collapse to the ground as soon as he inhaled the toxic air.

   'So far, everything has gone perfectly. The harder part will be to distance myself with the prisoner at least 2 kilometers to avoid being discovered while I interrogate him.', Lucy thought, looking at the nearly two-meter-tall man who fell face down to the ground.

   Fortunately, Lucy's attribute values were quite high, making her physical abilities far superior to those of her previous life's body. As a result, she had no major issues in swiftly getting away from the camp, dragging the captured man by one leg.

   "Bang!"

   Glancing back at the man's head, now covered in blood after accidentally hitting a rock, Lucy marveled at the efficiency of the somnolence smoke bomb and continued at the same pace, paying no attention to the situation of the man she was dragging behind since she was already quite far from the camp and there were few chances of being detected.

   'As long as he's breathing, I can heal him using a potion. There's no need to worry too much about his condition. Though I could carry him on my back, I wouldn't like to have too close contact with him...'

   After half an hour of continuous walking without any breaks, Lucy believed she had distanced herself sufficiently from the camp, and, after she administered a health potion to the unconscious hostage, she tied him to a tree using 30 meters of steel wire, ensuring there was no chance for him to escape when he woke up.

   'It seems like my first ninja-worthy mission was a success. Now, all I have to do is be convincing enough when he wakes up to make him spill all the information he knows... Considering the type of people he belongs to, I believe the bad cop, bad cop method will be most appropriate...', Lucy thought as she gazed at the man who was still sleeping peacefully, unaware of the surprise awaiting him when he regains consciousness.