For the next few days, Minato operated solo.
Additionally, he received a message from Jiraiya confirming his suspicions: Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, the highest-level of the Three Great Dojutsu.
This aligned with Minato's own observations.
Trusting his teacher, Minato didn't report this to the village.
He understood the significance of the Rinnegan.
If the village learned of it, they would stop at nothing to seize it, and in the process... Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan wouldn't survive.
Reports on the movements of Sunagakure and Iwagakure had already been submitted.
The Third Hokage acted swiftly, dispatching Jiraiya and other ninja to the front lines while instructing Jiraiya to negotiate with Kusagakure.
Kusagakure served as a buffer between Konoha and Iwagakure.
As long as they remained allied with Konoha, Konoha could extend its battle lines further, preventing damage to the Land of Fire's mainland.
Without Raj, life went on as usual, and even more pleasantly.
Obito and Kakashi both wished this peaceful existence could last longer, but it was clearly a pipe dream.
After so many days, the cat was on the verge of waking up.
It had always been this way.
In reality, Raj's body had gradually adapted to Natural Energy.
Once his body reached the optimal state, he could even exchange Points for Sage Mode and directly absorb Natural Energy from the environment, eliminating the need for cat food altogether.
However, Sage Mode required Points.
Everything cost money, and unfortunately, his pockets were empty...
Four days later, Raj groggily awoke to the sound of vigorous activity outside, punctuated by deliberately muffled panting.
This was definitely not Obito.
Suspicious, he quietly rose and peeked out from under the tent.
He immediately spotted that familiar figure walking upside down.
Hearing the movement, Kakashi glanced sideways and saw Raj staring up at him from below.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
"Meow~ Carry on. Pretend I'm still asleep," Raj muttered, retreating back into the tent.
Kakashi was actually practicing handstands?
'Unbelievable!'
It seemed Obito's rapid progress had made him feel deeply pressured.
Otherwise, given his prideful nature, he would have preferred leaping from tree to tree rather than stooping to such a practice.
The cat quietly slipped out again to observe from the shadows.
Unfortunately, Kakashi "walked" past him again.
A ninja's hearing is astonishingly sharp, so he spotted Raj's head once more.
"What are you-"
"Eh? Kakashi, what's this? I get it now! You're jealous of my genius and trying to steal my training methods, aren't you? Fine, fine, this genius magnanimously allows you to practice like this."
Obito's voice came from behind.
Kakashi snapped upright and turned to see Obito standing upside down nearby.
Awkwardness piled upon awkwardness.
Raj quietly retreated into the tent, pretending to still be half-asleep.
But when he opened the System Panel, he saw his Points had surged again, now exceeding 1,300.
The extra 200-300 Points must have been from Kakashi.
'Heh, not bad...'
He couldn't resist peeking out again, only to find Kakashi leaning against a tree, coldly using a book to mask his embarrassment.
Normally, without Raj's interference, Kakashi would have sensed Obito's return long before he arrived.
He could then have casually pulled out the book, pretending to be reading for leisure.
If Obito had been a bit more open-minded, he might have realized that Kakashi could always outperform him without even trying.
'Ah, the world of academic elites is truly rotten!'
"What's up?"
"Raj's awake. We're heading to the Iwagakure region, so Teacher sent me to pack up our things. Oh, and Lord Orochimaru wants to see Raj. He asked me to bring it along."
Obito's voice drifted in from outside.
Raj felt a mix of joy and dread.
It was thrilled to finally meet Jiraiya, the ultimate Points jackpot, but dreaded facing Orochimaru again.
'Then again, I don't really need to fear Orochimaru anymore.'
Orochimaru might be strong, but his mobility was no match for Raj's.
With its diverse Ninjutsu, Raj could even give the snake a hard time.
If not for Rin, it wouldn't even worry about Orochimaru and Danzo.
With that thought, Raj's fear began to fade.
'The Flying Thunder God Technique is a game-changer!'
'Twenty thousand Points - worth every penny!'
If cats could give thumbs-up, Raj would have given the System a solid one.
Without it, its feline life would have been a constant struggle.
"Meow~ I'm awake. Let's go."
Raj crawled out from under the covers, stretching its stiff limbs.
Three days of inactivity had left its body stiff.
But it could feel that its power had grown stronger after this hibernation.
"Alright, let's go, Kakashi. Since you're not training anyway, you can help us pack up. Thanks!"
Obito waved, grabbed Black Cat, and dashed off.
Kakashi froze mid-reach for his book, his brow furrowing as he wondered how things had escalated to this point.
'How did Obito suddenly learn to be so sly? There's no honest person left in this world...'
In that moment, he inexplicably missed Guy.
The guy could be infuriating at times, but after all these years, he remained stubbornly honest, untainted by the ninja world's corrupting influence.
'Though maybe it's because we have a cat on our team.'
He sighed inwardly.
'Life is hard!'
He wasn't the only one feeling this way.
Raj, too, was finding life difficult.
After being summoned, Orochimaru had presented it with another "gift": Special Jonin!
That's right, a Special Jonin certificate issued by the village, bearing the dual endorsement of the Third Hokage and Danzo.
'A cat becoming a Jonin? I must be hearing things!'
Raj wasn't the only one bewildered; everyone else in the tent was equally stunned, except for Minato, who was in the know.
"Meow~ Isn't this... inappropriate? I'm only..."
"There's nothing inappropriate about it. You're special, and you performed exceptionally well on the last mission. I look forward to further collaboration in the future."
Orochimaru lowered his voice for the latter half of his statement, making it barely audible to anyone but Raj and himself.
As expected, risk and opportunity go hand in hand.
The explosion a few days ago had yielded eight or nine thousand Points, but the downside was that it had elevated Raj's status in Orochimaru's eyes by another level.
This time, it wasn't just Orochimaru who knew; Danzo had also been informed.
'I'll need to make some preparations for the future.'
"Congratulations. From today onward, you are a Special Jonin."
Orochimaru smiled, his expression somewhat sinister.
It wasn't that he harbored any I'll will toward Raj; it was simply his natural demeanor.
Even when smiling, his expression never seemed genuinely warm, at best radiating an eerie grin.
Raj nodded.
Compared to him, the others were clearly far more agitated.
Though only a Special Jonin, it wasn't like Special Jonin were a dime a dozen.
Very few in all of Konoha could achieve that rank.
And when you thought about it...
"Oh, you're a Special Jonin too, just like a cat?"
"Even cats outrank you! How embarrassing!"
"My captain is a cat..."
A cat as a Special Jonin?
Now that was truly special!