Yahiko and his companions fell silent.
They had founded Akatsuki with the goal of achieving peace, and they had previously believed peace was within reach.
But after hearing Minato's words, they began to understand just how difficult it would be to realize that ideal.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Raj, observing from the sidelines, wanted to interject but hesitated due to his "cat" status.
He felt it inappropriate to participate in such profound discussions and remained silent.
Eventually, Nagato rose to leave.
Raj decided not to linger in the oppressive atmosphere and followed Nagato out.
As they approached the forest, Nagato turned to glare at Raj.
"Why are you following me?"
"Meow~ Hunting. Food."
Raj crouched down, his eyes looking up, perfectly framing Nagato's face and the corner of his right eye.
Nagato fell silent.
'Food? What's that got to do with me?!'
He was just feeling restless and wanted some fresh air, but Raj, without a word, had already darted into the forest.
Nagato sighed softly.
'Fine, I'll follow. Otherwise, this cat might be able to catch something but not bring it back.'
But the mention of hunting immediately conjured the image of last night's rat in his mind.
'This damn cat... is he going to spend all day catching rats in the forest?! A rat feast?'
Nagato froze for a moment, then shuddered slightly.
He quickened his pace, overtaking Raj and striding ahead.
'For the sake of my stomach, I'd better do this myself.'
The forest teemed with wildlife, but the constant rain made finding prey difficult, at least for Nagato.
So he headed straight for a nearby river.
Fish were the easiest to catch and their most common meal.
Yet barely had they entered the forest when Raj vanished.
Nagato hesitated, wondering if he should check on the cat, when he saw Raj emerge from a tree hollow, a creature coiled around his tail.
'What the hell is that?'
Nagato had a bad feeling, convinced the creature being dragged out was...
"Meow~"
Raj flicked his tail, tossing out a piece of prey.
Nagato narrowed his eyes and kicked the rat away.
"You don't even eat rats. How dare you try to make me eat one?" he grumbled.
"Meow~"
'I've been found out.'
Raj secretly summoned the System Panel and grinned inwardly at the newly accumulated points.
'Since I'm leaving soon, I might as well milk this for all it's worth before I go.'
He turned and continued running.
Soon, he caught another scent - this time, not a rat, but a wild rabbit.
The rabbit was hiding in its burrow, sheltering from the rain.
Raj repeated his method, using his tail in conjunction with the Wild Lion's Mane Technique to reach into the burrow.
Before long, he had the rabbit bound and dragged out.
'Another rat?'
Nagato's heart leaped when he saw Raj pawing at the tree hollow again.
He nearly used the Rinnegan's power to blast the cat away.
"Good stuff, meow~"
Raj remained oblivious, or perhaps simply didn't care.
After all, each creature meant more points.
But for Nagato, every creature Raj pulled out was a fresh shock.
The next one might well be another rat.
This time, however, it wasn't.
What emerged was a plump rabbit, still alive and unharmed when it landed in Nagato's hands, kicking and struggling.
The only problem was that the rabbit seemed to have peed itself out of fear.
Raj managed to pull it out by the fur and shake it off, avoiding getting wet, but Nagato wasn't so lucky.
Nagato's expression darkened, but he couldn't say anything.
"Meow! There's a squirrel up there..."
"No!"
"It's not a rat, it's a squirrel, meow~"
"Still no! I want fish."
As the two argued, the poor rabbit was dragged by its ears all the way to the riverbank, then tied up with grass rope to witness their fishing expedition.
If Raj were to explain, Nagato wasn't really fishing; he was simply using Universal Attraction to make the fish "jump" into his hands.
There was no skill involved - just pure Ninjutsu bullying the fish.
After catching their fill, they returned with the fish and the lone rabbit.
Yahiko took charge of processing the catch, while Konan handled the cooking, their roles clearly defined.
But when it came time to eat, Raj couldn't resist teasing.
"Meow~ How can you eat the bunny? Bunnies are so cute!"
"Put down the rabbit meat before you say that!"
Nagato snapped, barely containing his anger.
Raj ate faster than anyone else, and his words were always the most provocative - though only Nagato truly felt their sting.
Nagato had likely never spoken so much in front of outsiders before, and his uncontrolled emotions nearly caused his eyes to be exposed.
Of course, few were paying attention to his eyes.
Minato was the only one secretly observing Nagato, while Obito and Kakashi were completely oblivious, focused solely on eating their fish and meat.
After a nap and a meal, everyone had regained their energy.
That afternoon, Minato announced his intention to leave the Land of Rain and return to Konoha to report back.
His mission had been to coordinate with the Anbu ninjas, whose task was now complete.
They should have returned long ago.
Raj felt uneasy.
The Anbu ninjas' departure meant Orochimaru would soon return to the camp.
Orochimaru was typically in charge of the Sunagakure front.
Before leaving, Raj secretly pressed a paw print onto Konan while Nagato was absent.
This hand seal, modified by the System, served as Raj's unique spatial marker.
With it, as long as he had sufficient Chakra, he could return to the Land of Rain.
Of course, its primary purpose wasn't transportation but to leave a mark for instant communication.
Nagato was crucial to Madara and Zetsu's plans, and Zetsu undoubtedly had a clone or some other means of monitoring him.
Raj lacked the courage to confront Zetsu directly, but he could still stir up trouble behind the scenes.
After leaving the Land of Rain, Minato inquired about Obito's eyes.
Upon examination, he discovered that Obito had already awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
Overjoyed, Minato declared he would treat everyone to a grand feast upon their return to Konoha.
This promise couldn't be ignored.
Treating these brats to a feast would cost a fortune.
The three children, along with Raj, who was undergoing rapid growth, were all voracious consumers.
A rough calculation revealed that the mission's reward would likely be entirely spent on the feast.
The Land of Rain's border wasn't far from Konoha's camp.
After recovering their stamina, they could reach it in just over an hour.
To Raj's surprise, Orochimaru hadn't returned.