Raj couldn't stand it any longer.
After watching for a moment, it stood up, raised its head, and gazed into the distance.
"They're setting up camp, meow! Why don't we go help?"
"Setting up camp?"
"We?"
Obito and Kakashi turned to look at it simultaneously.
Obito was puzzled, while Kakashi wore a knowing, exasperated expression.
Rin was also present.
Unlike the previous two, Rin's eyes lit up, clearly agreeing with Raj's suggestion.
She immediately stood up, brimming with enthusiasm, and declared, "Great! Let's go help carry things!"
"Sounds good! I've got plenty of energy to burn anyway," Kakashi replied.
With Rin taking the lead, a certain someone was sure to follow suit immediately.
Kakashi wasn't unwilling to help, but he suspected something was off about the cat.
All its suggestions seemed designed to let it avoid work under some pretext.
After a moment's thought, he proposed, "Raj's chakra should be quite abundant. Why don't we use ninjutsu to help carry things?"
Raj hadn't anticipated being outmaneuvered like this.
Before it could protest, Rin had already enthusiastically agreed on its behalf.
The cat froze, then felt a sharp pang of annoyance.
'Kakashi's really trying to one-up me, huh? Well, what goes around comes around. I can't always be the one tricking them. Besides, I just ate that Deluxe Cat Food-a little exercise might actually be good for me.'
And so, the trio arrived at the camp to help with manual labor.
The Genin responsible for expanding the camp and setting up tents initially hesitated to let the three children work, seeing them all wearing Chunin vests.
But Kakashi insisted it was part of their "training," and they eventually relented.
But immediately afterward, they had the "good fortune" to witness the skills of a high-level ninja in action.
Before the trio could even move, a cat leaped in front of a pile of lumber, let out an adorable meow, and then...
A mass of cat fur, resembling aquatic plants, wrapped around each log, distributing them individually to the designated areas.
The cat's fur then reverted to normal, and it sharpened its claws on the ground, saying, "Your turn now, meow!"
"No problem," Kakashi replied, drawing a blade from his back.
This was Takayama's personal sword, given to him by Minato when they were disguised as Iwa Ninja.
Minato hadn't taken it back after the mission.
As for the Lightning Blade... He certainly wasn't going to use that to chop lumber.
"What about me?" Obito asked, looking bewildered.
"Hehe, we can go help over there," Rin said with a gentle smile, showing no resentment that Raj had cleared the area.
Instead, she seemed genuinely pleased that it was willing to help.
After exerting itself once, Raj squatted nearby, "sleeping with its eyes closed," looking utterly carefree.
Kakashi idled around, "honing his swordsmanship" while the others worked diligently.
Obito and Rin were particularly enthusiastic about helping.
Obito carried wooden beams while Rin helped the ninja set up tents.
After a while, Raj, noticing no one was paying attention to him, quietly slipped away into the nearby forest.
He opened the System Panel and expertly navigated to the gacha page in the shop.
'Whoa, Byakugan and Sharingan are both here! They even have special techniques like Magnet Release and Boil Release! This prize pool is absolutely insane!'
'Wait, I should wash my paws first...'
Raj gathered chakra and spat out a small stream of water to wash his paws.
He then rubbed them together.
Even though a single thought would trigger an eleven-pull, he insisted on going through this ritual.
'I'm not asking for much-just a Kekkei Genkai. No Rinnegan or Tenseigan needed, but Byakugan or Sharingan would be great too!'
He pressed his paws together in prayer, muttering incantations under his breath.
Then, the thought "Start the draw" flashed through his mind.
The wheel immediately began spinning, and the prizes popped up one by one, appearing on the reward panel.
First item: The most common dried fish.
Second item: Ichiraku Ramen (Naruto-sized portion).
Third item: Strawberry Mochi.
Eleventh item: Deluxe Cat Food.
'Ah, I've been scammed!'
In this eleven-pull, the most valuable items were a bag of Deluxe Cat Food and Ninja Cat Food.
The rest were just useless junk.
'While the Deluxe Cat Food alone was worth the price of admission, I'd'
'I've just eaten and don't need it right now!'
'My Points, my Points...'
'I should have known better than to make promises.'
'If I hadn't planned to give away the unwanted items to Matatabi, this pull might have been even more profitable.'
With that thought, I raised another flag, and this was the result.
Raj slumped on the tree branch, his spirit instantly drained.
After a few seconds, he forced himself to rally and began sorting through the eleven items, selecting those that might be useful.
The first three were out of the question.
Ichiraku Ramen, Strawberry Mochi - this cat doesn't even like those!
And the most basic dried fish? That's just insulting!
A cat scratching post? Useless for now.
An automatically returning iron ball? Hmm, this...
Last time I tried to ambush Tsuzuranoeru Jin, that guy smashed it away with a single hammer blow, and it never returned.
I felt a bit regretful about that afterward.
Might as well keep it - you never know when it might come in handy.
After sorting through everything, I decided to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to send the miscellaneous items to Matatabi.
Only one thing remained undecided: the Deluxe Cat Food.
This stuff is really useful.
If I keep it, I won't have to buy Deluxe Cat Food next time.
But if I give it to Matatabi, his strength will increase, which would benefit both Rin and me.
Having a subordinate to handle tasks was always better than doing everything yourself.
Sent.
Raj retrieved the items from his inventory space and, without a moment's hesitation, used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport them to Matatabi, the Double-Tailed Cat.
He felt no lingering attachment.
Just remember they were gifts.
He took a deep breath, glanced at the System Panel, which now showed over two thousand Points, and then at the prize pool.
He wondered if he should try another draw.
'Maybe the previous batch was just filler?'
'This... ugh, it's so tempting!'
Raj fell into another dilemma.
Fortunately, a dog's bark echoed from the distance, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
He turned to see several ninja rushing back, the last of whom wore distinctive attire unmistakably characteristic of the Aburame Clan.
'The Inuzuka Clan and the Aburame Clan - Points!'
Judging by his attire, this Aburame ninja was likely someone Raj had seen in the anime during his previous life: Shibi Aburame, the clan leader of the Aburame Clan.
Of course, Shibi probably hadn't become clan leader yet.