This situation... Well, it was a bit unexpected.
His plan had been for Gamabunta to help him block the mudslide created by the three Iwa Ninja, allowing Raj to quickly approach the enemies as a Flying Thunder God Technique anchor.
Then, Minato would swoop in and finish them off swiftly.
But instead, Raj's "Human Boulder" had completely crushed the enemies.
It seemed Minato wouldn't even need to lift a finger.
"Hmph~ What can I say? That cat is annoying. I really want to kill it and make a cat-fur coat," Gamabunta grumbled, puffing on his pipe with a distinctly "streetwise" air.
He watched the cat toy with the Iwa Ninja in the distance, while nearby, Kakashi was locked in fierce combat with another Iwagakure ninja.
Clearly, the ninja was an Iwagakure Jonin, but he appeared to be so severely injured that he couldn't even hold his own against Kakashi.
He was being pummeled relentlessly, unable to escape Raj's assault.
"Stop hitting me! No matter how much you torture me, I won't reveal any information!"
"Ugh!"
"..."
Raj paused, glancing at the ninja who had deliberately slammed himself into its claw.
His eyes flicked to the other two Iwa Ninja, who had also hurled themselves against his enlarged claws.
'Why so desperate? I wasn't necessarily going to kill them. Oh well, dead is dead. They were enemies anyway.'
After a moment's contemplation, Raj dismissed these scattered thoughts and turned his attention to the third and only surviving Iwagakure Chunin he had pinned beneath his paw.
"You, you damn cat! Don't get carried away! We... we may be rogue ninja from Iwagakure, but we still have... Ugh!"
"Too much talking."
Raj crushed him with a single swipe of his paw.
Partly, he was growing bored with the game.
Partly, the fatigue from opening the Eight Gates was beginning to set in, drastically weakening him.
It was best to deal with these enemies decisively while he still had the strength.
As for the Jonin in the distance...
Though the enemy was strong, Raj's "wheel" had crushed him, and Kakashi had relentlessly pursued him.
Now, severely wounded, the enemy had no chance of a counterattack.
Raj could safely watch the spectacle from the sidelines.
Exhausted, Raj began to walk back.
But when he saw Gamabunta, a sudden thought struck him.
Gamabunta seemed to hold grudges.
Raj had just used the toad's head as a springboard to launch himself forward, giving the Human Boulder extraordinary momentum to cross the raging mudslide.
'This time, I'm probably going to get a beating with those iron fists!'
As he considered this, Raj noticed Gamabunta's movements.
The way the toad gripped his sword hilt clearly indicated lethal intent!
'Hmm, 8,500 total points? Never mind then. Fortune favors the bold.'
Though Raj didn't know how many of the extra 2,000 points belonged to Gamabunta, it was clearly a substantial amount.
The rest likely came from the Iwa Ninja, Minato, and the eight ninja dogs.
'Increase revenue and reduce expenses-I guess this counts as increasing revenue, right? Just a bit too reckless, though.'
Raj silently lit a candle for himself.
He'd angered the Third Hokage, Minato, and now Gamabunta had been added to the list.
'Well, what's a toad anyway? We're all Summoned Beasts, colleagues in the trade. Sooner or later, we'd have to face each other.'
It mustered its courage and pressed forward, but when it saw the mountain-sized figure, it couldn't help but detour around to Rin's side.
Gamabunta took a puff of his pipe, slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke.
He couldn't resist remarking, "This little cat knows how to avoid danger. Since you saved me some effort, I'll let you off this time.
Otherwise, I could use a new cat-fur coat... Hmph!"
"Hahaha~" Minato didn't know how to react, so he could only chuckle awkwardly.
"Meow~"
Hearing that Gamabunta wouldn't pursue the matter further, Raj's claws began to itch again.
'If I strike while the iron's hot, I might be able to fleece even more Points, right? No! I can't push my luck. There's a limit to how much I can fleece, or one day I'll end up getting killed by the System's greed trap before I even get stronger.'
Raj solemnly warned itself.
In truth, it was currently exhausted from "Opening the Gate."
Had it been at full strength, it wouldn't have felt any fear.
Gamabunta, despite his size, was just a massive, clumsy brute-easy enough to evade.
Of course, Gamabunta knew none of this.
Had he realized the cat's thoughts, he would have drawn his "short sword" from his waist without hesitation and slain Raj in a single strike.
"Oh, by the way, could you help us clear a path?" Minato pointed to the partially cleared mudslide ahead.
"Are you kidding me?" Gamabunta's hand froze mid-swing with his blade.
'You actually want me to do manual labor? I'm Gamabunta, from Mount Myoboku... Fine, I'm already here.'
He glanced at the mudslide and couldn't help but sigh.
'What else can I do with such a troublesome junior? Besides, Minato and I have always worked well together. Might as well lend a hand.'
He lumbered forward, kicking mud to either side.
In mere seconds, he cleared a path.
Meanwhile, Kakashi, who had just captured a severely wounded enemy Jonin, turned to return and claim his credit, only to see a massive chunk of earth hurtling toward him.
'If I knew the Eight Gates Formation, I'd probably break through the Opening Gate right now.'
Fortunately, Kakashi possessed Lightning Release Chakra.
By stimulating his body's vitality with chakra, he managed to evade the earth's impact with lightning speed.
'Being huge really sucks. Even clearing a path is a pain... Good thing my chakra's completely drained.'
Raj secretly rejoiced.
If he hadn't been completely drained of chakra, Gamabunta and Minato would have surely caught him and dragged him into clearing the path, making him pay the price for his earlier "fleecing."
But now, he had nothing to worry about.
Minato was a good man; he wouldn't force an injured comrade to handle such menial tasks.
Still...
"Raj, take a Soldier Pill and go help Teacher," Rin said.
Raj turned its head, bewildered, to look at Rin's outstretched hand offering the Soldier Pill and her serious expression.
'Is this how you treat your master, you terrible caretaker?!'
It was inwardly annoyed.
'Besides, wasn't Gamabunta already handling things?'
"We can't be sure if there are other Iwa Ninja nearby, and the caravans need a stable path for their carriages... In short, clearing the way quickly will ensure our safety," Rin explained softly.
'You make a good point. I have no counterargument.'
Raj swallowed the Soldier Pill.
After resting briefly, the fatigue from Opening Gate had gradually subsided.
Combined with the pill's effects, while using Ninjutsu like Wild Lion's Mane or Rasengan would still be difficult, the Expansion Jutsu posed no major problem.
It enlarged itself slightly and followed behind Gamabunta, pushing aside shattered rocks and sand to clear a path wide enough for the carriages to pass safely.
The process was swift, as Raj was essentially just cleaning up the aftermath.