Nekomata is a giant cat who runs the ninja cat underworld. He's best known for his encounter with Itachi Uchiha during Sasuke's childhood, when Itachi was collecting paw prints from increasingly powerful felines—starting with ordinary house cats and working up to lions, with Nekomata's print as the final prize. After Itachi defeated him and his crew, he made a deal with Nekomata: when Sasuke grew up, Nekomata would fight the kid at full strength.
Nekomata first appears in the Konoha History Arc (a filler arc in Episode 189).
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