Raj waited until they were gone before trailing after them.
A cat's keen sense of smell allowed it to follow their scent trail easily.
Meanwhile, Kabuto ahead was still puzzling over what felt wrong.
Just as they neared home, a realization struck him: the ninja had mentioned pet-related businesses as lucrative ventures.
'Could that ninja be the owner of the Ninja Cat? It's possible!'
This thought sparked another idea: if he learned Medical Ninjutsu, he could earn money by treating both people and pets.
'That's another way to make money!' he mused. 'Once I'm skilled enough, I could even open a pet hospital.'
At this point, Kabuto had no experience with medical techniques.
He assumed that treating humans and pets were essentially the same, both falling under the umbrella of "medicine," and saw no fundamental difference between the two.
The Inuzuka Clan are the biggest pet owners, but they have their own veterinary team and don't rely on outsiders.
When Raj suggested opening a pet hospital, he was mainly thinking about the larger market in Kyoto.
Of course, he also felt sorry for the orphans and wanted a legitimate place in Konoha to play, bully other cats and dogs, and earn Points.
Kabuto was a clever man, or Orochimaru wouldn't have taken an interest in him.
Raj lingered for a while, confirming the orphanage's location.
Glancing at the darkening sky, he realized it was too late to stay.
But he resolved to visit again when he had time.
Back home, Raj crouched in his cozy nest, lost in thought.
'When will this miserable life end? I wish time would pass faster.'
Rin hadn't returned home for three days.
The night before last, Raj had seen the Chunin hurriedly receive orders and leave.
He still hadn't returned by today.
'Could it be...?'
Raj felt a pang of worry.
Rin hadn't appeared in the Naruto series, and in recent years, Konoha had been engaged in constant, albeit small-scale, conflicts with neighboring villages.
Even small wars claimed lives.
His unease lingered, but thankfully, it didn't last long.
By evening, Rin returned, physically unharmed but with a complex mix of emotions.
A heavy sorrow hung in the air - someone in his team must have died.
"Father," Rin said as she returned home.
She paused in surprise upon seeing him before giving a slight bow.
"Raj, sit down," Rin said wearily, forgoing his usual small talk.
After a long, blank stare, he finally spoke, "You children will likely graduate early."
Her eyes widened.
'All of us graduating early? How is that possible?!'
Rin wasn't a genius in her class, but her academic performance consistently ranked at the top.
She had a clear understanding of the abilities and grades of most of her classmates.
Half of them graduating wouldn't have surprised her, but all of them...?
"Ah, too many have died. There's nothing we can do about it," he said heavily.
After several years of respite, the Iwa and Suna Ninja Villages were showing signs of renewed aggression toward Konoha.
This time, Sunagakure was leading the charge, and Konoha had suffered heavy losses among its Genin.
Among the three Genin under his command, two had fallen at the hands of Sunagakure.
'No wonder...'
Rin thought of the wounded soldiers.
It explained the sudden surge in patients at the hospital.
Raj, who had been eavesdropping nearby, couldn't help but feel dazed.
War had begun.
No wonder Rin hadn't returned home for days.
This visit was likely just a temporary handover before he had to leave again soon.
After all, Chunin formed the backbone of the ninja system.
After a moment of hesitation, Raj decided he should show his support.
He leaped from his nest onto the dining table.
The two humans didn't even notice him.
Raj leaped onto the dining table, provoking Rin, the clan head, to
Both anger and a near-reflexive attempt to knock him off flared.
The man's nerves were frayed from days of relentless travel.
But Rin intervened, shielding Raj in her arms to protect him from her father's wrath.
She glanced down and exclaimed with surprise and delight, "Father, look!"
Her father initially dismissed her words, but his eyes widened as he took a closer look.
A forehead protector.
The forehead protectors for Ninja Beasts differed from those worn by humans, and their evaluation methods varied, but the fundamental requirement remained the same: strength.
In just over two weeks, Raj would only be eight months old.
This level of talent was extraordinary.
Raj flicked his tail and hopped off the table as the cook emerged with the meal, glaring at him to get down.
He obediently settled onto the cushion on the floor, waiting to be fed.
A plate of food was placed before him.
The dish contained both vegetables and meat, though it was simpler than usual.
While the meat was undoubtedly more appealing, Raj knew he had to eat the vegetables too-Tsume wouldn't tolerate any fussiness.
After finishing his meal, he rose and began wandering around the room.
Rin's class had been suspended, leaving Raj without his most reliable source of Points.
With his daily expenses still high, he had no choice but to reluctantly turn to his family for help.
Based on his recent observations, the System's Point calculation seemed to work like this: the greater the emotional distress of the bullied target, the higher the Point reward.
Take Obito, for example.
Though weak, he had been cornered into begging for mercy and promising to give Raj dried fish. His genuine desperation had earned Raj a reward of one or two hundred Points.
The Third Hokage, on the other hand, was simply too good-natured.
'Maybe I should leave some after-dinner sweets in the Hokage's office one day? That might earn some Points, but the difficulty's too high, making it practically impossible.'
'It'd be far simpler and more direct to use a seductive technique on the Third Hokage. Now that's a good idea...'
Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, his stomach began to rumble.
Raj turned toward the bathroom, ready to attend to nature's call, when he noticed a small box on the floor.
Flipping it over, he found it empty.
His eyes lit up with an idea.
'I can't damage the house's equipment, but surely I can mess with this trash. It's recycling, after all!'
With newfound conviction, he kicked the cardboard box all the way to the bathroom.
Carefully, he deposited his "treasure" inside.
The excitement must have been too much, as the quantity was larger than usual, nearly overflowing the box.
A few seconds later, the stench began to spread.
'Holy shit, that stinks!'
Raj's face twisted in disgust.
He gagged repeatedly before leaping out of the bathroom's small window, closing it slightly behind him.
'That was mean.'
He worried he might get a beating later.
But then he remembered he was now a fully-fledged Ninja Cat, officially on the roster.
He deserved some respect and couldn't be beaten on a whim.
'Besides, if Rin tries to hit me, I can just run! I'm a cat, not Masato's son.'
With that thought, Raj's spirits lifted.
He began calculating how many Points this stunt might earn him.