Rumor had it that Orochimaru was still in a small town in the Land of Wind, engaged in friendly negotiations with Ebizo, and wouldn't be returning anytime soon.
Raj was delighted to hear this.
He didn't know that Orochimaru and Ebizo were anything but friendly, but he was certain Ebizo harbored no goodwill toward Orochimaru.
The longer they clashed, the better.
Upon his return, Minato immediately headed to the intelligence division.
The movements of Sunagakure and Iwagakure had to be reported to higher-ups so they could prepare.
If Iwagakure and Sunagakure launched a joint offensive while Konoha remained unprepared, the village would suffer a devastating blow.
For Raj and the others, there was nothing left to do.
The camp was bustling with tasks, but since they had just returned from an outside mission, they were given the day to rest.
This time, they were assigned their own individual tents.
Yet Raj still missed life in Konoha.
Though daily life there was often dull, it was safe - far better than this constant existence of licking blood from his claws.
Unfortunately, returning anytime soon was out of the question.
'Come back soon, Asuma. Life's so boring without you,' Raj silently prayed, though he knew it was almost impossible...
Normal Genin teams were still handling basic missions.
Asuma and his group were considered elites within their graduating class, but they ranked in the lower-middle tier among all Genin.
This wasn't due to a lack of Ninjutsu mastery.
On the contrary, many Genin actually knew very few Ninjutsu techniques.
However, their extensive experience and physical strength made them far more reliable on missions than children - Kakashi being an exception.
The next morning, Raj had planned to sleep in, but Obito, ever the early riser, began his morning training before dawn.
He didn't just exercise; he incessantly chanted things like, "If I can't do..."
"500 push-ups in this time, I'll throw 1,000 punches!"
"And I'll do 1,000 handstand laps around the tent!"
The main reason for this was that Rin had left even earlier.
If Rin were still asleep, he would never dare to shout like that.
'What a hypocrite!'
Raj wasn't the only one annoyed; Kakashi was equally irritated.
The noise always reminded him of Guy.
Though Guy was straightforward and amusing, Kakashi still found him annoying - especially now that Obito was adding to the aggravation.
"Meow~ Kakashi, aren't you going to go out and teach him a lesson?"
Raj got up and noticed Kakashi's hand tightly gripping the sword beside him.
"If you want to go, go yourself."
Kakashi took a deep breath, then lay back down in the tent, ignoring the noises outside.
He treated it as just another part of his mental training.
'Looks like that's a no.'
He wasn't going, and Raj didn't feel like stopping him.
After pondering for a moment, a new idea formed in its mind.
Seeing Raj leave, Kakashi sat up and glanced outside with a puzzled expression.
Based on his understanding of Raj, the creature would definitely just curl up and rest.
There was no way it would actually go out and try to communicate with Obito, especially since he couldn't interfere with Obito's training...
Just as he was thinking this, he heard a mix of cat and human voices from outside.
"Meow~ Obito, why don't you shout something out after each lap to pump yourself up? It'll give you more motivation!"
"Really? That makes sense! Okay!"
Next, Kakashi heard a string of numbers, even more torturous than the earlier "If you can't do X, then do Y" routine.
Then, the damn cat wandered off and didn't return to the tent.
'This is infuriating!'
"Points secured! Ah, Kakashi, no need to thank me. Early to bed and early to rise keeps you healthy."
Raj strolled through the camp, sighing inwardly.
Bickering with Kakashi was one of his few remaining pleasures.
After all, Rin was gone, so arguing wouldn't make much difference now.
Sure enough, Kakashi soon emerged to begin his training.
Unfortunately for him, Obito immediately dragged him into a sparring match.
Though called "sparring," it was more like a duel.
It was clear that Obito's ego had swelled after awakening his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, and he desperately needed someone to humble him.
Raj had no time for such nonsense.
He circled the camp before sneaking back into his tent to retrieve a portion of Deluxe Cat Food.
With no combat missions on the horizon, now was the perfect time to enjoy a luxurious meal and a long, deep sleep.
After eating that stuff, even Obito shouting in his ear wouldn't wake him.
Kakashi, being human, lacked the ability and willpower to ignore such noise.
A single dose of Deluxe Cat Food was more effective than any sleeping pill.
However, Raj could sense that his adaptation to natural energy had improved significantly.
Previously, consuming it would instantly knock him unconscious without warning.
Now, he retained a sliver of awareness, like being in an extremely drowsy state.
Before long, it had drifted off to sleep, its eyes half-closed.
Outside, Kakashi sparred with Obito for a while.
Soon, many idle ninjas from the camp gathered to watch, cheering and even placing bets on who would win.
The outcome was predictable.
Although Obito had mastered Earth Release ninjutsu, his arsenal was limited to the Earth Flow Wall and the Hardening Technique.
The Hardening Technique, which could be activated in advance, reduced the damage he took from physical strikes - a common tactic among Iwa Ninja.
In theory, this setup should have made him a formidable opponent in taijutsu.
However, Lightning Release countered Earth Release, and Kakashi happened to specialize in Lightning Release ninjutsu.
After defeating Obito, Kakashi suggested he run a patrol around the camp to keep busy, effectively dismissing his "rival."
When he returned to his tent to rest, he found Raj sprawled inside his sleeping bag.
Raj, dressed in a ninja uniform and wrapped snugly in Kakashi's sleeping bag, was sleeping soundly.
Kakashi ruthlessly dragged the cat out, only to find it remained completely unconscious.
'Sleeping this deeply?'
Sighing in resignation, Kakashi set the cat down and vigorously shook out the sleeping bag.
The movement, however, had roused him, and he no longer felt like sleeping.
'How annoying!'
Currently, Sunagakure was embroiled in negotiations with Orochimaru, and internal issues remained unresolved.
Even if the war hawks wanted to strike Konoha, they couldn't mobilize for the time being.
As a result, Minato's Team wouldn't be deployed again anytime soon after returning to camp.
Even if they were deployed, it would only be for basic tasks.
Missions like the previous one, which could easily be classified as S-rank, wouldn't be assigned again unless the Third Hokage or Jiraiya personally issued the orders.