Next, a black cat snatched the clothing, and he immediately took a detour to chase after it.
This led the noble lady to believe he was an upright man, and she fell in love with him at first sight.
A very cliche plot.
But Jiraiya was writing with great enthusiasm, feeling immensely satisfied because he had completely immersed himself in the character.
Raj sighed softly beside him.
Even a small glimpse of the new world would astound them.
If only he were human and older, he could have become a writer or director instead of being stuck as a ninja in this small village.
The ninja profession was far too dangerous, the risks too great.
'Without strength, the entire Ninja World is a dangerous place.'
'Well, might as well make the best of it,' Raj consoled himself, his thoughts drifting into a daze.
After spacing out for a while, he noticed Jiraiya writing with fervent enthusiasm, occasionally muttering to himself.
Reluctant to interrupt or leave midway, Raj opened the System and browsed Google.
Thanks to Jiraiya's help, his Points had climbed back to over eleven thousand.
The greater the risk, the greater the reward.
The ancients spoke truly.
Raj sighed in admiration before scrolling through the System's shop.
The shop offered many enticing items, but few were both appealing and affordable.
As he scrolled down, his eyes widened in surprise.
Eight Inner Gates - Rest Gate.
Previously grayed out, the icon was now illuminated, indicating that he met the requirements for exchange and could now upgrade it.
The Rest Gate restored physical stamina.
While seemingly minor, this ability was crucial in battle.
Opening the gates wasn't the only thing that drained stamina; ordinary Chakra use and combat also depleted physical energy.
The Rest Gate allowed one to squeeze out a bit of extra stamina even when physically exhausted.
This was invaluable for both escaping and counterattacking.
Most importantly, it was cheap, costing only 1,000 Points to unlock.
After redeeming it, a third "Life Gate" exchange option appeared in the shop - still grayed out.
The activation requirements for the Third Gate were likely far more demanding than the previous two.
The first two gates primarily involved the mind, with physical prowess playing only a minor role.
Anyone with basic martial arts training could potentially unlock them.
But the Third Gate was different.
Raj didn't dwell on it.
The Eight Inner Gates were merely a convenient purchase due to their low price.
If further gates became available, great; if not, no need to push it.
After all, the shop offered countless other treasures.
Why fixate on this one?
It skipped past the "Life Gate" and continued scrolling down.
Various Ninjutsu, Secret Techniques, and Bloodline Arts filled the screen, ranging from weak to powerful.
Raj had previously considered redeeming the Shadow Clone Technique, but its exorbitant cost had deterred it.
Now, with the Water Clone available...
'Good enough. No need for Shadow Clones anymore.'
Its gaze swept down the list, landing on a familiar item among the 10,000+ Point exchanges: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Raj's constitution leaned toward Wind and Water, making Wind and Water Release techniques relatively inexpensive to acquire.
He had already mastered the Rasengan, but this technique...
For others, the ordinary Rasenshuriken was quite impractical.
When it struck an enemy, it would expand into a massive Chakra storm, a self-destructive technique that harmed both the user and the target.
But Raj possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In theory, as long as he had a marked location and reacted quickly enough, he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape before the Chakra storm engulfed him.
'This could work!'
His eyes lit up with excitement.
He had only spent over ten thousand points on the Rasenshuriken for now, but once he obtained the corresponding Sage Mode, it wouldn't just be the Rasenshuriken anymore - it could be upgraded to a Sage Art.
'The kind you can throw!'
'We don't have the Chakra reserves for a Tailed Beast Ball, but spitting out a Rasenshuriken would still be stronger than Shukaku's Drill Air Bullet, right?'
'If I get strong enough to exchange blasts with the One-Tailed Beast, even overpower its firepower, Shukaku would be furious!'
'The One-Tailed Beast's bounty must be substantial, right? Hehehehe!'
The more Raj thought about it, the more promising this seemed.
He was still short about three thousand points, but with Lord Jiraiya and Minato around, that shouldn't be a problem.
He'd gather them soon enough.
"The opening is done!" After what felt like an eternity, Jiraiya suddenly shouted in excitement.
Raj startled awake and glanced around groggily.
He noticed a stack of manuscript pages piled up in front of Jiraiya, likely around ten pages.
'Damn, Jiraiya, that's some impressive speed!'
"Well, what do you think? Aren't you impressed by this Immortal's genius? Come, I'll allow you to be the first reader and witness my unparalleled literary prowess."
Jiraiya puffed out his chest proudly, completely forgetting that Raj had provided the outline for the novel.
Curious, Raj took a look.
To prevent the cat from 'paw-ing' the manuscript, Jiraiya held the pages up for Raj to read.
Raj scanned the text.
"The handwriting is so messy, meow!"
As a modern youth who had been taught since childhood that 'one's writing reflects one's character,' Raj couldn't suppress his urge to criticize.
Before he could even think, the words had already tumbled out of his mouth.
Jiraiya remained silent, but his grip tightened on the pen, as if he were holding a kunai.
Raj jolted awake.
He had already squeezed nearly three thousand points out of Jiraiya today - enough was enough.
Any more, and he'd risk losing his own skin.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and began to read seriously.
After his extensive revisions, the plot was largely sound.
However, one thing struck him as odd.
Jiraiya's writing was sloppy when describing men, but his descriptions of women were lavish and vivid.
With just a few strokes of his pen, he created incredibly evocative imagery.
'No wonder Make-Out Paradise is so popular!'
Raj suddenly had a vivid mental image.
What felt even more jarring was that while reading this passage, he couldn't help but think of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl - specifically, a version where the Cowherd was a loser who made a comeback.
After a moment's thought, he spoke.
"I think it's good, but we're the authors. Our opinion doesn't matter, meow."
"That's true." Jiraiya pondered for a moment, then gave Raj a thumbs-up.
'This cat is truly mischievous and clever,' he thought.
'Its mind is even more inventive than mine.'
'With it around, writing a normal book suddenly seems less daunting.'
'But ultimately, I have to rely on myself.'
'The key is to extract the best parts of its thinking and ensure that Black Cat's name is removed from the original author list later...'
"Meow!" Raj cried out, then scrambled to escape.
Having finally managed to trick Jiraiya, it had no intention of sticking around and risking angering the white-haired man.
But Jiraiya clearly wasn't letting it off the hook.
He grabbed Raj and hoisted it onto his shoulder.
"Come on, Let's go back and get people to read the book! You're one of the authors too, so you can't miss the criticism!" Jiraiya declared, brimming with enthusiasm.