Raj lowered his head, pondering this when he suddenly felt a nagging sense of unease.
'Kakashi, Asuma, Obito... Have I become a brat manager?'
'Oh well, whatever. Managing three is the same as managing six.'
'Though I didn't get an assistant, Kurenai owes me a favor and will have to take him back eventually.'
'That's quite satisfying. At least Kurenai won't give me the stink eye next time I see her.'
"By the way, I'm almost finished writing the novel up to the Chunin Exams," Jiraiya whispered proudly.
"Hehehe..."
He didn't dare boast too loudly, but Raj glanced sideways at Shibi Aburame, who had just arrived and was sitting quietly in the corner, trying not to draw attention.
Raj couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
'Look at that kid-he's lost weight these past few days.'
'Jiraiya must be making Shibi handle all the administrative work while he just uses a Shadow Clone to help.'
'Poor guy... I feel for him.'
But for Raj, this was good news. The sooner he finishes writing, the sooner we can start selling it.
'I'll get forty percent of the profits-it's a win-win!'
'Doesn't the Inuzuka Clan only cater to dogs? I'll just open my own cat massage parlor.'
'Whether it gets business or not, I'll set it up first. Even if I end up being the only customer, it'll still be awesome.'
'Money talks, and I'll do what I want!'
After pondering for a moment, he pressed, "No flaws at all, meow?"
"My inspiration flowed like a spring, not a single problem," Jiraiya replied, giving a thumbs-up.
"Meow~," Raj nodded heavily.
If Jiraiya said there were absolutely no problems, that meant there were definitely problems. Otherwise, how could this guy write so smoothly?
It wasn't being prejudiced; Jiraiya's thought processes were genuinely a bit... off. That's why Raj insisted on reviewing the manuscript, and Jiraiya readily agreed.
After all, he'd said that precisely to show Raj his masterful writing skills.
Raj hurried to Jiraiya's tent to examine the work. As he read from beginning to end, his heart sank deeper and deeper...
The plot was fine, but what was with the overwhelming "lewdness" radiating from the writing?
'Why does the protagonist come off as so perverted, even when doing something serious?'
'You're even worse than yourself, Jiraiya!'
'At least you look cool and suave when you're being serious.'
'This protagonist has completely let himself go, hasn't he?'
It was a bit of a headache. Being perverted isn't a disease, but when it's all crammed together like this, it's truly deadly.
This story is slightly nauseating, at least from the perspective of one of Raj's creators. For ordinary readers, it probably wouldn't be a problem.
"Well, what do you think? Aren't you impressed by my writing and creative genius? You should be grateful-only I could have mastered this story. No one else could have written it," Jiraiya shamelessly boasted, completely oblivious to his own arrogance.
Raj thought, 'Fine.'
Everyone has their own writing style. Perhaps Jiraiya was simply born to write like this.
Forcing him to write inspirational stories before had truly stifled his talent. Still, he was remarkably diligent.
He'd written so much in just a few days.
'Should we publish it next?'
'If Tsunade ever saw this... well, the other parts might be tolerable, but the protagonist is so perverted, and his interactions with the female lead are so frequent.'
'If she ever gets invested in this, she might...'
'Hiss!'
Raj shuddered involuntarily. He could only hope Lady Tsunade would be too lazy to return to the village, or too busy gambling to afford the book.
Otherwise, neither Jiraiya nor he would escape her wrath.
'Sigh, a cat's life is so tough.'
Emerging from Jiraiya's tent, Raj suddenly felt a surge of danger. Raj thought, 'I need to get stronger, at least strong enough to survive Tsunade's punches.'
Raj was about to return to his own tent when Jiraiya suddenly reappeared and called out, "Don't leave yet. Come with me somewhere."
"Meow?"
'Why drag me out at this hour? Could it be...?'
Unpleasant thoughts flashed through Raj's mind.
'Is this guy planning to sneak a peek somewhere and use me as a scapegoat if things go wrong?'
"What's with that expression? Don't let your imagination run wild. We're just going to a meeting," Jiraiya said, gently patting the cat's head.
'A meeting? How strange. What kind of meeting would require a cat's attendance? Weren't those Jonin eager to get rid of me earlier?'
Raj followed along.
'As long as I can make those Jonin uncomfortable, I'll earn Points.
Why not?'
Unfortunately for the cat, the Jonin present-Jiraiya, Raj, Masaki Uchiha, and Minato-weren't buying its act.
"Lord Jiraiya," Kura addressed him.
"Kura, repeat the intelligence report," Jiraiya ordered as soon as he arrived.
Masaki Uchiha began his report. He recounted details about Kirigakure.
Since the destruction of Uzumaki Village over a decade ago, the Hidden Mist had remained largely isolated, their current strength unknown.
Kura's report focused on intelligence regarding Kirigakure, including information about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and their Ninja Academy.
After listening, Raj tilted his head and stared at Jiraiya, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"Meow?"
"You killed one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and seized one of the Lightning Blades,"
Jiraiya explained.
"So you need to be careful. Also, if Kirigakure truly intends to attack, you and Minato might need to operate separately."
"The emotional turmoil is still the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's fault," Jiraiya explained.
"Though now it's the Six Ninja Swordsmen, since they killed Tsuzuranoeru Jin and even seized his Ninja Sword, sealing it with layers of powerful seals."
"Also, while one of the Lightning Blades was given to Kakashi, it's been sealed with an Uzumaki Clan sealing technique to prevent it from being taken by Summoning Techniques or similar methods."
"In the future, Hidden Mist ninja might even target Kakashi directly."
Raj pondered this for a moment, then his eyes lit up.
"If Kirigakure poses such a great threat, it's too dangerous for me to train Kakashi and the others here. We should return to the Camp for training, meow."
"???"
Jiraiya stared at Raj in bewilderment.
'This little creature is truly relentless, always finding loopholes in everything.'
Fortunately, Minato smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry, we'll assign an additional person to train them with you. We've already chosen someone, so you don't need to worry."
"Meow?"
'You've really prepared for everything! For every step you take, the enemy takes ten!'
Raj sighed inwardly, reluctantly agreeing with tears in his eyes.
Raj pondered for a long time, trying to figure out who the Camp had assigned to him.
After racking his brain, he finally learned the truth the next day when he met his unfortunate comrade: Naoki.