Meanwhile, as several insects returned to his side, a nearly invisible ninja processing intelligence looked up at the "Lord Jiraiya" beside him.
'He wouldn't even think of me when reviewing the manuscript, so why would he remember me when reviewing documents?'
He sighed softly.
'Never mind. I'll just keep reviewing these documents.'
The camp was full of bored individuals, and Naoki was among the most prominent.
In just half a day, his big mouth had spread the news of Jiraiya's exciting new book throughout the camp.
This was big news.
At least now everyone wouldn't have to worry about how to respond or refuse if Jiraiya came asking them to review his manuscript again.
For now, Jiraiya had no intention of showing his work to anyone else.
He wanted to make a grand entrance, shocking the world upon publication and proving, "I, Jiraiya, am no literary failure!"
Raj breathed a sigh of relief.
At least for the short term, he wouldn't have to endure the torment of that book.
But then again, who knew what kind of monstrosity Jiraiya would write next?
'I hope it crashes and burns soon,' he thought, secretly cursing Jiraiya's early demise as he ate his communal meal.
Minato and the others hadn't emerged yet.
Raj suspected they had all fallen asleep in the basement, given how esoteric the material was.
Even Kakashi couldn't understand it, let alone Obito.
But halfway through his meal, Raj finally sensed the spatial marker on Rin beginning to move.
'Had the lesson ended?'
He rushed over eagerly and saw Obito stumbling out, his face a mask of utter despair and existential crisis.
One could only imagine the day's knowledge bombardment had been like a university professor forcing a primary school graduate to learn advanced calculus-and refusing to let him eat until he understood it.
'How utterly tragic.'
'Good thing I took the shortcut and bailed,' Raj thought.
'Just imagining it makes me realize my expression wouldn't have been any better than Obito's.'
The poor kid looked dazed even while eating.
Of course, Kakashi and Rin weren't doing
Much better.
Even as top students, their education barely reached middle school level, making the Flying Thunder God Technique far beyond their comprehension.
When Minato saw Raj, he immediately smiled "kindly." Well, that's what he probably thought.
But after spending a day underground teaching, a mentally exhausting task, his complexion was a bit pale, making the smile somewhat unsettling.
At least Raj jumped back in fright.
After the meal, Minato beckoned Raj over and quietly slipped away from the group toward the Main Tent.
'Is he going to help me with the Flying Thunder God Technique?'
Raj's eyes darted around before he leaped onto Minato's shoulder and whispered, "Meow~ Teacher, are you going to teach me the next stage of the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"We need the village's approval first. Since we're currently at the North Line Camp, we need my teacher's consent first," Minato explained.
"He's not in the tent, meow!" Raj replied, jumping down and heading straight for the riverbank.
Jiraiya was working tirelessly, scribbling furiously under the moonlight.
Inside the tent, only his Shadow Clone could be found.
'Wait, did Shibi Aburame come to eat earlier? Never mind, it's not important.'
Right now, formalizing the Flying Thunder God Technique was more important.
'The Points could wait. Shibi Aburame wasn't going anywhere, and we'd get our hands on his Points eventually.'
'Save them for now. I'll withdraw them later if needed.'
"Teacher, why are you out here?" Minato asked, puzzled.
"Why aren't you in the camp? There aren't even any hot springs around here..."
"Research, meow!" Raj replied casually, running ahead.
He spotted Jiraiya writing under the moonlight in their usual spot, his figure as lecherous as ever.
This ingrained demeanor only faded when Jiraiya was genuinely focused on writing or peeping.
As Raj approached, Jiraiya said without looking up, "Raj, check this out! I've written another thrilling scene.
See how the protagonist returns, but his clan members think he's unworthy..."
"Meow~ How did you know it was me?"
"Your cat smell gives you away. Oh, Minato's here too. How are the three of them doing? Did a day of training show any progress?" Jiraiya asked, writing as he spoke, multitasking efficiently.
"Not yet, but we've assigned specific tasks. We'll see if they can master them. I wanted to talk to you about Raj," Minato replied.
"You little rascal, causing trouble again?" Jiraiya stopped writing, as if Raj's "trouble" ranked even higher than his so-called "important matters."
"No, after testing, we discovered Raj has exceptional aptitude for the Flying Thunder God Technique. He should master it quickly, so I wanted to request the village teach him the technique," Minato explained on Raj's behalf.
"What?" Jiraiya's hand trembled, dropping his pen to the ground.
He stood up abruptly, staring at Raj in disbelief before turning to Minato, his expression one of utter disbelief.
"That's the truth, Teacher. You see..."
The Flying Thunder God Technique was an S-rank Forbidden Technique.
Minato himself had only been granted permission to read the Book of Seals and choose a Ninjutsu from it after performing a great service to the village.
"Return to camp immediately. I'll personally write a letter and have a Communication Frog deliver it to Konoha." Jiraiya quickly gathered his paper and pen.
Based on merit alone, Raj's contributions were far from sufficient.
However, the Flying Thunder God Technique's strategic importance on the battlefield far surpassed that of ordinary Ninjutsu.
Its extreme difficulty was precisely why they had been forced to resort to researching the Flying Thunder God Formation Technique as a fallback.
"Yes, sir!" Minato turned and led the way back to camp.
The two men and the cat returned to their tent, where Shibi Aburame was still sitting and working...
"Hahaha, Shibi, you're still here? Didn't you go eat? I... I had some errands to run this afternoon, so I left a Shadow Clone here."
"Lord Jiraiya, I was right beside you during mealtime."
Shibi Aburame stood up, choosing not to press Jiraiya about his afternoon slacking.
However, he was slightly concerned by Jiraiya's earlier remark.
"Oh... right. I was... I was thinking about something and didn't notice."
Jiraiya quietly dispelled his Shadow Clone, scratching his head awkwardly.
He then walked over to retrieve the North Line Leader's seal and another scroll encrypted at the highest security level.
Upon seeing the scroll, Shibi Aburame immediately bowed slightly and withdrew from the tent.
Minato pulled the tent flap closed and formed hand seals to establish a barrier.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya had already picked up his brush and begun writing, needing only to explain the situation clearly and thoroughly.
Raj crouched nearby, its heart unmoved.
To it, this was merely a pass.
Whether Konoha approved or not, it had already mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The only difference was that Konoha's approval would allow it to use the technique more openly, but at the cost of certain concessions.