A Summoning Contract was part of one's abilities.
How could anyone be forbidden from using their own abilities?
If he possessed such a skill, he'd have the camp personnel summon him directly here too.
'If you can teleport, why would you bother running?'
"Lord Naoki, are you...?"
"It's nothing. I'm going to rest now."
Naoki sighed.
He was such a fool.
He'd resolved days ago not to compete with the cat, yet he couldn't help but subconsciously try to outdo it, even if only by a little.
But the truth was, he'd lost.
Fortunately, the cat didn't realize he was competing with it.
But that was precisely what made it so tragic.
Still, as a seasoned Special Jonin, Naoki recognized the cat's exceptional potential.
It was clear this creature was no ordinary house cat; if his assessment was correct, it would she'd the "Special" designation within a few years at most.
That thought was manageable enough.
'But once it she'd that title, wouldn't it become a full-fledged Jonin?'
The realization tightened Naoki's chest.
He'd been a Special Jonin for over a decade without promotion, his prospects for advancement likely gone forever.
'Yet a cat...'
'Forget it. Why dwell on such depressing thoughts? Living well is what truly matters.'
But Naoki's mind clearly had other ideas.
By the time Raj woke up early the next morning, his Points had already surged past seven thousand.
'There are still so many good people in the world!'
Moreover, its strategy of using the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach this location last night, then going out for a bath and a stroll, had proven correct.
As expected, that young man had indeed stabbed Naoki.
But now, it couldn't afford to sleep any longer.
As a qualified Special Jonin, it needed to report its mission results and inform Jiraiya and the other Jonin about the outcomes of the battle.
In particular, it had to emphasize the matter of someone having cut down three fools and then tossed the three Iwa Ninja corpses over for
it to dispose of.
The camp had changed dramatically in the few days since its last visit. Various tents had been erected, and medical equipment had been moved to the front lines, clearly indicating preparations for a prolonged conflict.
At the center stood a large tent - Lord Jiraiya's office. By "office," they meant intelligence processing.
The Iwa Ninja hadn't yet launched a full-scale attack. The only direct engagement so far was today's battle between Raj and Naoki.
All other activities consisted of reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and other preliminary operations. Lord Jiraiya was responsible for intelligence consolidation and central coordination.
"Good day, Lord Raj."
"Lord Raj!"
"..."
As it walked through the camp, many Ninja bowed frequently, making Raj feel somewhat awkward.
'How can these people not even give me Points? Don't they feel any shame? If I were them, I'd be avoiding cats like the plague. Sigh, I just can't understand them...'
Raj shook its head and sauntered toward the main tent. It was still early, and the camp didn't yet reek of Naoki's scent, meaning the old man hadn't woken up yet.
'Maybe Jiraiya hasn't gotten up either.'
But reality proved otherwise.
Jiraiya seemed quite reliable when working. When Raj arrived outside, Jiraiya was buried in paperwork, two stacks of intelligence reports piled on either side of his desk, while two or three Jonin stood below, presumably giving their reports.
One stack was for reviewed reports, the other for unread ones. Though the unread stack looked two or three times higher, the reviewed scrolls already numbered quite a few.
Yet Jiraiya still had to divide his attention to listen to the Jonin's reports. Being a leader must be exhausting.
And this is just a division commander - if he were the Hokage, he'd probably go bald...
'Wait, I don't even have hair anymore. Just a coat of cat fur. A bald cat? Ugh~'
Raj shuddered, shook his head, and slipped under the tent flap. The moment he entered, everyone turned to look at him, even interrupting their reports.
"You... Oh, right, Raj! Quickly report on yesterday's situation. What exactly happened? Were they all killed?"
"Meow~ Of course! I took down all three Jonin and three Chunin. Senior Naoki killed three Kusa Ninja. The situation was too urgent to investigate their identities at the time, so that remains to be determined."
Raj never lied about important matters. These were the facts, though he emphasized the strength of the "six Iwa Ninja" while glossing over the ambush and surprise attack.
He summarized the "Kusa Ninja" situation simply. The assembled ninja were sharp-witted and immediately understood the implications.
'Three Jonin and three Chunin all taken down by this cat alone? Good thing I didn't impulsively volunteer to join the mission with the cat. Being outdone like that would have been utterly humiliating.'
'Poor Naoki, you must have worked so hard.'
The three Jonin couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for their eager colleague.
"So, what was Kusagakure's reaction?"
"The leader arrived immediately, and his expression was... not good, meow."
Raj answered truthfully, but he couldn't resist adding a few embellishments. For example, he mentioned how Naoki had used his Invisibility Technique to conceal himself and suppress his chakra signature, yet remained frozen in place, too afraid to move when Osamu and the others arrived.
Among the three Jonin, the slightly older sword-wielding ninja pressed his temple with his hand. Unfortunately, he was also a member of the Gekko clan.
If all this were true, Naoki had been completely outshone by Black Cat. How tragic... utterly tragic...
"Naoki, come in too," Jiraiya called out after a moment of stunned silence.
Moments later, Naoki entered the room. He had clearly just woken up, his clothes hastily thrown on.
He had rushed over to report the situation, only to find Raj had already beaten him to it.
"Naoki, tell us what happened," the Gekko clan Jonin said, his expression unreadable.
As Naoki's clan uncle, his feelings were particularly complicated.
"Lord Jiraiya, Raj's group eliminated one Jonin and two Chunin first. Then three of my team members rushed over to assist. My team consisted of two Jonin and one Elite Chunin... though they were from Kusagakure."
Naoki paused, then added, "They're from Kusagakure."
The Jonin from Kusagakure were noticeably weaker than those from the major villages. What he didn't mention was that both Kusagakure Jonin were quite old, likely hadn't seen combat in over a decade.
The art of diplomacy - everyone plays the game.
Next, he detailed Osamu's attitude and expressions, offering his preliminary assessment.
"I see. You've all made significant contributions. Senior Naoki, would you mind making a detour to Orochimaru's camp? Borrow Shikaku and explain the situation here. Instruct him to visit Kusagakure and have a chat with Osamu."
As Jiraiya spoke, he retrieved a blank scroll and began writing furiously, meticulously recording every detail of the intelligence.