The Hyuga Clan was a major noble family.
Even as the head of a branch family, their wealth must be substantial.
Whether the food was delicious or not was one thing, but it was undoubtedly expensive and rare.
As a commoner, Raj had never tasted noble cuisine in either his past or present life.
"Then, see you later," Hizashi Hyuga said, quickly departing.
His speed was top-tier among Jonin, and he soon vanished from Raj's sight.
However, Raj could still sense that Hizashi could see him.
The Byakugan was truly ridiculously overpowered in this regard.
Raj sighed softly.
'Thank goodness Jiraiya doesn't have the Byakugan.'
If Jiraiya had possessed the Byakugan, he would probably have molded it into a 'Jiraiya' shape.
'Huh, my Points are almost at ten thousand.'
As it wandered aimlessly, Black Cat checked its status panel and realized that the Points, which had been about a thousand short earlier, were now very close to the milestone.
This was partly due to exchanging Points for Ninja Cat Food and special Cat Food.
Without the food exchange, it would have already surpassed ten thousand Points.
'How could I have missed such a momentous occasion...? Wait, I can't even post about it on social media right now. What's the point of regretting it?'
Black Cat's thoughts were in disarray.
This was mainly due to boredom.
Tracking scents wasn't particularly challenging; it could even multitask.
Its keen sense of smell, combined with the recently awakened sensory abilities, made these tasks utterly monotonous.
Suddenly, its fur bristled.
A sign of imminent danger!
'An enemy!'
'The Sunagakure Ninja are truly relentless...'
Raj tensed its muscles, but after a moment's deliberation, it didn't stop.
It had decided to give this guy from Sunagakure a surprise.
It found a tree and lingered there for
A few seconds.
Moments later, a Puppet emerged from the ground.
Black Cat could clearly sense the hostile intent growing stronger, and it vaguely sensed the Chakra's origin.
Just as the Puppet was about to close in, it suddenly leaped sideways.
Enhanced by Chakra, the leap was far more powerful than usual, sending dust and small rocks flying in all directions.
In the next instant, Raj, now several steps away, suddenly spat out a massive jet of water.
The water column, carrying rocks, dust, and splintered wood, slammed toward the source of the Chakra with devastating force.
No one could possibly hide from such an overwhelming assault.
A moment later, a series of rustling sounds emerged.
The enemy had revealed himself.
It was a Puppeteer, his hands manipulating a Puppet with thin strands of Chakra threads.
The next second, Raj let out a sharp cry and retreated from the area.
"Poison Gas!"
Fortunately, it had sensed the danger in advance and dodged the attack.
Otherwise, it might already be poisoned.
Raj ground its teeth, briefly regretting not using more "extreme" measures.
But the regret lasted less than half a second before another plan surfaced in its mind.
'Long-range strike!'
Its paw couldn't touch the Puppet, but it didn't need to target the Puppet at all.
It could simply take out the Puppeteer directly.
However, to guard against these cunning old schemers hiding poison or concealed weapons on their bodies, it would be best to use Needle Jizo for an extra layer of protection.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he acted.
The Sunagakure ninja fled swiftly, showing no intention of engaging in combat.
Raj seemed equally uninterested in pursuing him.
Yet, in the next instant, one of the cat's front paws rapidly elongated, instantly growing to dozens of meters in length.
The claws at its tip were thick and razor-sharp, while the cat hair bristled menacingly.
Most terrifying of all, a massive chakra sphere rapidly coalesced beneath the colossal paw.
"I... I..."
'Holy shit, even Konoha's cats are this terrifying?!'
The Sand Village ANBU ninja abandoned his puppet, hastily forming hand seals to launch it skyward as a shield against the descending paw.
He hoped to buy a moment with the puppet's self-destruction, but strands of cat hair erupted, binding the puppet mid-air and flinging it aside.
At that moment, the Sand Village ANBU ninja was consumed by regret.
'Why did I accept this mission? Why am I throwing my life away? Konoha is so strong - how could Sunagakure ever hope to win...?'
His thoughts were cut short as the massive paw and the Rasengan crashed down.
Though the direct impact missed, the swirling winds generated by the Rasengan and the paw's descent dragged him toward the center of the maelstrom.
At that moment, he was utterly despairing.
'Konoha's cats are this strong? What kind of hellish job is this, infiltrating Konoha?'
'Hmph, what does it matter if I let you run a few dozen meters first?'
Immediately afterward, boom!
A deafening roar erupted as the cat's paw slammed down.
The spiraling Chakra ball swept through the area like a whirlwind, leaving the Puppeteer no chance to escape.
He was instantly shredded to pieces before being flattened into the ground.
'That combo was powerful! The burst was truly impressive, but the Chakra consumption is a bit high.'
Raj dispelled the Ninjutsu, then gulped down a packet of special Cat Food to replenish his stamina and Chakra.
Without it, he felt drained, always uneasy unless his Chakra was above seventy percent.
'Still not enough Chakra. He used to think he had plenty, but now... Don't get cocky. Keep eating the Cat Food.'
After lounging around for a while, waiting for the Poison Mist to dissipate, Raj cautiously circled around to the massive crater he had created with his paw and peered down.
'Well, at least he's saved on burial costs.'
Considering the enemy had contributed over five hundred Points, pushing him past the ten thousand mark again, he decided to spare the corpse.
Though it wasn't a complete body, at least it had a final resting place.
From a certain perspective, his death was far more comfortable than those of his comrades.
At least he didn't have to worry about being tortured or having his memories extracted by the Yamanaka Clan after death.
After all, his head was likely shattered, making memory retrieval impossible.
Raj glanced at the body before continuing its leisurely stroll.
Soon, it caught Hinata's scent.
A few seconds later, Hinata appeared on a tree branch ahead, waiting for it.
"Were you looking for me?"
"Not at all. I was wondering how you got ahead of me, meow~"
Raj darted through the forest, quickly catching up to him.
Hinata paused for a moment or two.
Activating his Byakugan, he scanned the surroundings before saying, "My bearings are correct. You're the one who's lost."
'Lost? Me, the mighty...'
Ahem, well, it's actually quite possible.
Raj wanted to argue, but upon reflection, it realized it had been wandering aimlessly.
The odds of accidentally circling back to Hinata's location weren't exactly low.
"Meow~ This cat sensed potential enemies in this area."