Raj didn't know what to do.
The problem was he didn't want to use the Flying Thunder God Technique in front of so many people so early.
He'd used it once before, but that was at night when no one could see clearly, and only Rin and Matatabi were present.
"You're... no ordinary cat," the girl murmured after a moment.
Raj was startled and looked up at her, realizing the implications after a few seconds.
The Uzumaki Clan's sensory abilities were notoriously abnormal.
Karin, in particular, was a genius with the Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
Her mother's sensory abilities likely weren't far behind.
At that moment, he wanted to say, 'I'm Raj, and I'm exhausted today. As a Special Jonin, my first mission was to infiltrate, but I blew my cover on the very first day.
And the one who exposed me? A female beggar...
This is even worse than being "on the same level as a cat"!'
Raj's mind raced with thoughts.
After a few seconds, he whispered, "Meow~ My name is Raj. I'm a Ninja Cat from Konoha."
"Konoha?"
Hearing the name seemed to trigger distant memories in the girl.
She quickly tightened the scarf covering her face, but then remembered that he was just a Ninja Cat and might not recognize her hair.
After a moment's thought, she whispered, "My name is Ori. I'm... an orphan."
"Meow~ Ori, would you like to come to Konoha with me?"
Raj instinctively went to lick his paw, but then remembered he had just rummaged through a trash can and forcibly suppressed the habit.
"Konoha? I... I don't... I don't want to go."
A flicker of fear flashed in Ori's eyes.
If she wanted to return to Konoha, she would've fled to the Land of Fire, not wandered to the Grass Country wrapped in tattered robes.
"Meow~ Then come to my place. But you might have to take care of a big cat or a whole group of cats," Raj said after a moment's consideration.
The Ninja Cat Castle was relatively remote and secluded; few people would bother going there.
'Hmm, wait a minute. Granny Cat seems to issue some pointless missions from time to time. I'll have Matatabi mention it to her later - she needs to stop sending out such boring tasks all the time.'
As he pondered, a detailed plan gradually formed in his mind.
"Your place... cats?"
"It's a gathering place for cats, with a decent little castle. We can definitely provide you with food and shelter, meow~ But it might be a bit hard work."
As a cat, Raj understood feline nature better than anyone.
Given Ori's lack of combat skills, he imagined she'd be bullied mercilessly at Ninja Cat Castle.
Still, he doubted her life would be in danger - just a lot of teasing.
"Mm-hmm!"
Ori nodded emphatically.
Having witnessed so much bloodshed in recent years, she was acutely aware of the world's prejudice against the Uzumaki Clan.
To her, this place felt like a hidden paradise.
"Meow~ Then it's settled. I have missions these next few days and can't stay with you, but..."
Raj slapped his paw down, leaving a seal.
"With this mark, I can come to you anytime."
But Kusagakure was unpredictable.
If someone discovered her money or her Uzumaki Clan identity, trouble would surely follow.
A mere seal wouldn't guarantee her safety.
If the Flying Thunder God Technique had this feature, Obito and Rin wouldn't have died.
Worried, Raj pondered for a long moment before waving his paw.
"Come with me, meow."
"Huh?"
Ori tensed, not suspecting malice from Raj, but reacting instinctively from past betrayals.
After a moment, she realized her mistake and nodded, following him.
"I'll teach you the Transformation Technique. Listen carefully, meow."
Raj recalled what he had learned while auditing classes at the school and recited the key principles and techniques of the Transformation Technique.
Ori, with her natural talent, mastered it in no time.
At Raj's instruction, Ori transformed her hair to pink.
It wasn't her favorite color, but it was the only hue she could currently achieve.
Mastering more colors required further training and control.
Pink wasn't particularly conspicuous in the Ninja World.
As long as her Transformation Technique remained undetected, she wouldn't have to worry about being captured.
However, the Transformation Technique was a basic disguise, fundamental to ninja training.
Ori knew she wasn't truly safe.
She needed to wait for Raj to return and fulfill its promise of taking her to a cat paradise.
Until then, she would have to remain hidden, avoiding all contact.
To prevent suspicion, Raj had her remove her headscarf and then strolled with her through various garbage heaps, even deliberately passing by the Kusagakure Genin to let them see her pink hair beneath the scarf.
After this series of maneuvers, Raj felt confident they had covered their tracks.
As long as Ori didn't act recklessly, the chances of her being captured were slim.
But if she courted disaster, no one could blame anyone but herself.
Even Raj wouldn't dare help her then.
After leaving Ori, Black Cat circled the town again.
He noticed one or two new ninjas in town.
Though they were only Genin, they seemed more skilled than the others.
Two of them were newcomers, and Raj followed them home.
Initially, he planned to leave, as the scene inside was rather unseemly.
But then the Kusa Ninja mentioned something to his wife.
"Didn't you have a mission?"
"Coming home is the mission. Don't ask any more questions."
Though not classified, Raj found this remark highly significant.
'A mission to come home? What kind of mission could there be here?'
This town was the first stop on the trade route from the Land of Fire into the Grass Country, and missions in this border region were generally under Konoha's jurisdiction.
The Grass Country had no authority here.
Therefore, this "mission" clearly involved the Land of Fire.
However, the scale of the ninja deployment was small.
'Are they only targeting Konoha?'
Raj pondered this for a while before deciding to pass the puzzle on to Naoki.
His job was simply to deliver the information.
He then repeated his method, tracking another newly arrived ninja home.
This one was more aggressive.
Spotting the cat following him, he immediately turned around, furious, and tried to scare it away.
Raj had no choice but to feign panic and flee, secretly tailing him from the shadows.
However, the man revealed nothing.
As a bachelor, he simply returned home, drank heavily, and did nothing else.
Raj lurked for a while, hoping he might mumble something in his sleep, but the drunkard remained silent even in his stupor.
'What now?'