Raj slumped down, feeling utterly dejected.
But when he checked the system and saw that the proper Exploding Release technique cost 10,000 Points, he instantly perked up.
Despite the minor setback, trading 1,000 Points for 10,000 was clearly a bargain.
It might be a bit unsightly, but as a trump card or a life-saving move, it should work just fine.
'Besides, I don't need to make fancy shapes like Deidara. I can just expel it to blast enemies while covering my escape. As long as it gets me away safely, that's all that matters.'
'With damage, escape cover, and Points, this is actually a pretty great technique!'
'Thinking about it differently, this is a treasure-tier Ninjutsu!'
With this realization, Raj even considered changing his fur color.
'If I'm now a Lucky Emperor, why stick with black fur? I should switch to white!'
As he instantly transformed into a white cat, Rin looked puzzled.
"Why did you turn white?"
"Meow~ From today onward, this cat is a Lucky Emperor!"
'Now for the real question: Should he try another round?'
The "White Cat" was feeling cocky, so it went for another spin.
This time, it got eleven different foods.
Adding them to the previous ones, it could now assemble a grand feast.
The only consolation was that the last item was Ninja Cat Special Food, which partially restored its points, reducing the loss to 700.
'Hmph... As expected, you can't let yourself get carried away with these gacha games. Once you do, things are bound to go wrong.'
It felt a pang of regret.
"Heh, Lord Jiraiya has white hair. You turning into a white cat makes a perfect pair," Obito remarked casually from ahead.
"Meow!"
Raj, already in a foul mood, flew into a rage at these words.
With a leap, it landed on Obito's head and began clawing at his hair with both paws.
In moments, Obito's hair was a jagged mess.
By the time it retreated to the medical kit, Obito had received a free "layered cut."
'Hmm, much more stylish than before.'
At least, from the cat's perspective, the new hairstyle was an improvement.
Plus, it seemed to have gained over 200 points-not
Much, but not bad either.
"Aaaah!"
Obito was furious, itching to tear the cat apart alive.
"Obito, you can't talk about Lord Jiraiya like that," Rin said.
'What's with that tone?'
'This jerk is clearly calling me as lecherous as Jiraiya. What does she mean I can't talk about Jiraiya like that? Does she think I'm a pervert too?!'
The White Cat lifted its head, staring at the little girl.
A'Guy didn't understand the joke, as he was currently deep in thought, wondering who Jiraiya was.
"But..."
"Lord Jiraiya is a good person! I won't let you talk about him behind his back. Understand?"
"Yes," Obito reluctantly conceded.
'Jiraiya is a good person? Yeah, right!'
Rumors had been circulating recently that Jiraiya had taken an interest in the "princess" of the Akimichi Clan and had tried to peep at her bathing near the bathhouse.
Fortunately, a cat had foiled his attempt.
The story seemed straightforward enough, even praising the cat for its "heroic intervention."
But upon closer examination...
'Why would a cat specifically appear near the bathhouse?'
Obito believed his reasoning was sound.
Combining this incident with past events, he had uncovered the "truth" behind the cat's abandonment of him in favor of Raj: it was a perverted cat.
His logic and assumptions were flawless, yet...
"Besides, Raj is just a cat. Its thinking logic is different from ours, so don't apply human reasoning to a cat's mind," Rin continued.
As expected of a medical student, she spoke with such logical precision that Guy was left impressed but confused.
Obito, however, couldn't help but feel bitter resentment at the cat's smug demeanor.
"Meow!"
"I understand," Obito said, quickening his pace forward.
'This is coercion, intimidation, and a forced confession. I, Obito Uchiha, will never truly submit.'
Raj lay sprawled on the medical kit, thoroughly pleased with itself.
This was the advantage of being a cat - no matter what, its cuteness would always prevent a complete defeat.
Compared to it, Obito now seemed more like a defeated dog.
"Who is Lord Jiraiya?" Guy finally managed to interject.
"That's not important, meow... I've found more enemies. Should we chase them?"
"Lead the way!" Rin was full of energy.
According to the four "unregistered" individuals they'd encountered, this forest was likely filled with clues to "clearing the game."
Given their current resources, they could easily each secure two headbands first before worrying about anything else.
Raj was immensely grateful for having marked its territory earlier.
Without that, how could they have so easily located the surrounding enemies?
Crucially, the marked targets were all relatively weak, rookie-level ninjas, so there was no risk of accidentally kicking a hornet's nest.
Though Obito was seething with frustration, he had no choice but to follow along.
With a guide, finding people wasn't difficult.
However, what shocked everyone was that when they traced the scent to its source, they discovered two corpses hidden in the jungle.
Their headbands hadn't been taken, and there were no visible wounds on the surface.
"It's poison," Rin said, crouching down to examine the bodies.
With Guy's help, she carefully flipped them over and gently parted the hair at their necks.
There, they found a pinprick-sized wound.
'Sasori?'
Raj's mind flashed to Sasori's puppet.
Moreover, since exam participants typically formed teams to avoid being alone, the presence of only two corpses suggested that the third body had been taken away.
He sniffed the surrounding area.
Indeed, there were traces of three people's scents, but the third scent vanished abruptly.
It was likely that the corpse had been sealed into a scroll after death, while Sasori had probably used some method to mask his own scent.
For him, this would be no difficult task.
"What's going on?" Obito asked, catching up, visibly tense.
He had a vague feeling that this incident was connected to the earlier "Sasori" encounter.
"Meow~ Probably Sasori. Can't track him," Raj replied, then returned to Rin's side.
Witnessing the corpses' gruesome state, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
This was the true lethality of Sasori.
The reason it retreated after a single strike was its fear of invisible attacks like poisonous smoke or gas.
Once poisoned, death would soon follow.
'The researchers in the Ninja World are terrifying!'
Black Cat lamented, regretting his greed for Sasori's two thousand-plus Points.
'Well, the Points are already in the prize pool. No use regretting it now. Better focus on finding a solution.'