Obito ran upside down, sweating profusely but still enjoying himself immensely.
"Hahaha, we were originally going straight back to the village, but Lord Third said that a certain cat had been scaring the children and causing trouble. Since there's some business at the border, we'll swing by Shikaku and the others on our way back."
"Meow?"
Raj ran ahead, staring blankly at Minato.
His feline face displayed an unusually human-like expression.
'So that's the kind of person Minato is... No, wait, so that's the kind of Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen is!'
'None of these Hokage are good people. Cut them open, and they're all black inside. This cat sees right through you all!'
"It's good. Staying in the village was so boring."
Kakashi's indifferent tone carried a hint of amusement.
To him, the quiet life in the village was practically torture, especially having to take his Eight Dogs to the Inuzuka Massage Parlor every day, spending money like water.
Spending money at home versus earning it on missions - the choice was obvious.
From this perspective, he almost had to thank the Dead Cat.
"It's a shame I wanted to learn more advanced Taijutsu. If I hadn't come out here, I might have already mastered the basics," Obito sighed regretfully.
He only knew the principles of the Eight Gates Formation; Might Guy hadn't taught him how to actually open them.
Now, he either had to figure out how to open the first gate on his own or ask Might Guy or Guy for help when they returned to the village.
"Meow~ If you can't learn it, don't blame this cat!" Raj purred, trotting slowly behind them.
Obito turned to see those cold, piercing eyes, and a chill ran down his spine.
'This cat... is still holding a grudge?'
'What a difficult creature to deal with! I never know when I'll end up on its little grudge list.'
'I only said one thing, and it wasn't even wrong!'
'But no matter. Once this genius fully masters the Sharingan, evolves it from One-Tomoe to Three-Tomoe, defeating a mere cat will be child's play.'
Obito's mind raced with visions of a glorious future.
"Teacher, are we almost at Lord Shikaku's camp?" Rin suddenly asked.
"Rin, you knew that?" Minato asked, surprised.
"A batch of supplies for the Medical Corps came through here earlier, and I helped prepare them. I suddenly realized this location is about the same distance from the camp as it appeared on the map," Rin explained, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
"Excellent. With some training, you might have potential in other areas too. For now... everyone halt. We'll wait for them to verify our identities."
Minato raised his hand, signaling the group to stop.
Security checks were standard procedure.
Raj stopped, but after sniffing the air, it stood up and stared intently in one direction.
'Dog smell!'
"Minato? Ah, these must be your disciples."
A large brown dog appeared in the distance, followed by a figure rapidly approaching using the Body Flicker Technique.
They landed on a nearby tree branch.
He was a member of the Inuzuka Clan.
Judging by his partner and attire, this was likely Gaku Inuzuka, who had appeared in [ Naruto ].
Behind him were ninjas from the Hyuga and Aburame Clans, all specialized in reconnaissance and tracking.
"Inuzuka-senpai, I didn't expect to see you here. I've been ordered by Lord Third to reinforce the Sunagakure front lines."
Minato retrieved a scroll bearing the Third Hokage's personal seal, which contained the mission details.
He casually tossed it to Gaku Inuzuka.
Gaku opened the scroll and carefully verified its authenticity, confirming it was indeed from the Third Hokage.
He sighed in relief and returned the scroll to Minato, then waved his hand.
"Come on, we're just about to have dinner. Want to join us?"
"No, I need to find Inoichi about something."
Minato hadn't forgotten the corpse still sealed in the Sealing Scroll.
The sooner it was "analyzed," the better.
Any delay might make extracting useful information impossible.
The Jonin were engaged in conversation, and Kakashi and the others naturally didn't dare to interrupt.
However, one exception existed.
Suddenly, a series of barks erupted nearby, followed by an angry roar that quickly devolved into whimpers.
"What's going on?"
Gaku Inuzuka turned to see his valiant companion locked in a brawl with a large cat.
No!
To be precise, it wasn't a brawl, but rather a one-sided chase and beating.
The dog was running and yelping, utterly cowardly, showing none of the bravery and ferocity it usually displayed on the battlefield.
'What was this nonsense?'
His ninja dog, capable of matching Sunagakure's Elite Chunin in single combat, was being outmatched by a mere Ninja Cat?
"Uh... well..."
Minato looked somewhat embarrassed.
Did this cat have a grudge against dogs?
Why did it provoke every canine it encountered, only to beat them soundly?
It was quite... something.
"I apologize, seniors. I'll take it away immediately," Rin said, bowing apologetically.
She then moved aside and began forming hand seals.
A few seconds later, her hair extended to wrap around Raj's claws.
Seeing an opening, the Big Brown Dog immediately counterattacked.
However...
The next moment, Raj opened its mouth.
Boom!
A jet of water erupted, sending the Big Brown Dog flying.
At first, everyone was worried, but seeing the Big Brown Dog's condition, they realized Raj had held back.
The full power of Raj's water pillar came from infusing it with
Wind Release Chakra, but this time it was clearly just a plain water pillar.
"Serves him right!"
Gaku Inuzuka covered his face.
If you can't win, just admit defeat!
But no, he had to counterattack while his master was stopping the Ninja Cat, not only embarrassing himself but also his master.
Now look at him - he couldn't even get his dignity back.
The Big Brown Dog was drenched in "saliva," covered in dirt and looking utterly miserable.
It tried to return to its master's side, but when it saw Raj, it hesitated and stopped.
Raj reverted to his original size and circled around Rin, secretly checking the System Panel.
'Over four hundred Points gained! Sweet! Just a little more effort and I'll have nearly nine thousand Points.'
'The ninja dogs are so friendly when we first meet.'
'Usually, if you provoke them a little, they'll immediately charge at you, thinking you're an easy target because of your small size.'
'Then you can grow big and righteously beat them down, teaching them a lesson.'
'Hehehe, the Expansion Jutsu is so useful.'
Raj was delighted.
Prioritizing the Expansion Jutsu had been a brilliant decision.
Of course, it was also thanks to these foolish dogs' "malice."
If they hadn't tried to counterattack, how would he have gotten the chance to farm Points?
Clearly, he wouldn't have.
'Take Minato, for example.'
'He's just too nice.'
'To farm Points from him, you'd have to exploit his messy relationship with Kushina - attacking him directly would be pointless.'
'Too bad I threw away the Big Stick Meat bones after eating the meat.'
'If I'd kept them, I could have used those massive bones to properly train this stubborn dog.'
'Hmm, if the Lottery Pool ever has something like that again, I might consider another round.'
With over eight thousand Points in hand, Raj felt unprecedentedly inflated.
A mere thousand Points seemed utterly insignificant.