As a cat, Raj's moral standards seemed to have plummeted. In his previous life, he would never have stooped to stealing meat from a child, but now he did it without a shred of guilt or hesitation.
Obito was furious. To prevent the cat from snatching the remaining grilled meat, he dared not argue with Kakashi any further and instead kept a vigilant eye on the table.
"There's enough for everyone, enough for everyone," Minato said, scratching his head.
He was beginning to realize that leading this team might be more challenging than he'd anticipated. The internal conflicts were proving troublesome, mainly due to a certain troublemaking cat.
Just then, a commotion arose at the entrance. A Jonin entered the barbecue restaurant, followed by three Genin.
Upon spotting Minato, the Jonin immediately bowed slightly in respect. Behind him stood Guy, Ebisu, and Genma - all familiar faces except for the Jonin.
"Didn't Guy graduate a long time ago?" Obito asked, puzzled.
Under Dai's guidance, Guy had graduated early and become a Genin, gaining practical experience through missions and battles. Logically, he shouldn't be assigned to a newly graduated Genin team.
Minato's expression was complex as he patted Obito's head without answering. The answer was self-evident.
Everyone except Obito understood the reason. What puzzled Minato was how the fearless Black Cat, who usually feared nothing, suddenly shrank back as the group entered the shop.
'That's odd.'
Minato watched the cat with amusement for a few moments before returning to his grilled meat, deciding against testing the Little Black Cat's reaction.
The group ate together, lingering for a while before finally leaving the shop. Minato ended up paying quite a bit.
He had initially assumed the three children wouldn't eat much, and that was mostly true. However, the cat's appetite rivaled that of one and a half children - and these were boys like Obito and Kakashi!
'For such a small cat, its appetite is enormous,' Minato mused.
After finishing their meal, the group said their goodbyes. Rin had considered asking about her father's current situation, but after careful thought, she abandoned the idea and ultimately didn't ask, taking Raj home instead.
Today's exercise had merely been a test for Team Seven; their real mission wouldn't begin for a few more days. Given Minato's capabilities, he wouldn't remain idle during wartime.
Now that the team had been formed, a new mission would likely surface within three or four days at most. Everyone continued to train and wait.
Raj wanted to go out and earn some Points. After searching all over Konoha, he could only find ordinary people.
Even at the orphanage, he couldn't find Kabuto or the female director; the children there said they had gone to Kyoto. Raj knew that after Kabuto had practiced on him, he and the director had gone to serve wealthy women in Kyoto.
What a pity! He often lamented that he shouldn't have told Kabuto about the wealthy women in Kyoto.
If Nono had thought of it later, that would have been a future problem. At least he could have enjoyed these few days properly.
But Kabuto was a very practical person. Without the prospect of earning money, why would he have devoted himself to researching these techniques so diligently?
Lost in thought, Raj heard a series of hurried footsteps outside. He immediately stood up alertly and sniffed carefully.
It was Rin.
"Raj, pack your things. We're leaving."
"Meow?"
Raj was puzzled. It was already evening, almost dinnertime.
Rin rushed in, quickly changed into her combat gear, and gathered her equipment. Tsume hurried out of the kitchen, her face shifting from shock and surprise to a deep sadness as she witnessed the scene.
Her daughter was going to war. She glanced back at the prepared ingredients and sighed heavily, losing all motivation to cook.
'What's the point of preparing a meal for just one person?'
"Mother..."
"I know, Rin. Ninjas don't need to pack food or clothes when they're on missions. Here, take these soldier pills for now."
Tsume rummaged through a chest and pulled out a small jar. Rin paused, then bowed deeply to her mother before signaling Raj to follow.
Together, they dashed toward Konoha's main gate. Kakashi was already there when they arrived.
Obito hadn't shown up yet.
"Teacher went to find him.
He'll be here soon," Kakashi said, clutching a kunai in his hand.
Raj glanced at it - a specially crafted kunai. A treasure.
Raj's eyes darted around. If he had a special kunai, it would be like Minato being able to find him instantly.
But then again... Having a kunai was no substitute for mastering Space-Time abilities himself.
The shop offered plenty of Space-Time survival skills, but they all cost tens of thousands of points. The cheapest were the Summoning Technique (8,000 points) and the Reverse Summoning Technique (12,000 points).
Perhaps he simply wasn't compatible with the Space Attribute. This wasn't surprising.
Few ninja in the world were truly compatible with the Space Attribute. Otherwise, the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique wouldn't have been lost, only to be rediscovered and refined by Minato.
Even so... After the Fourth Hokage, no one had ever truly mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The technique was simply too difficult.
'Who knows? One day, I might even draw the Flying Thunder God Technique or Obito's Kamui Sharingan from the Roulette. Heh heh heh...'
A moment later, two figures suddenly appeared before the trio - Minato and Obito Uchiha.
After enduring the long, silent journey, he finally blurted out as they approached the Land of Fire's border, "Teacher, where are we going?"
"Dead Last, you'll find out when we get there," Kakashi replied coldly.
"Haha... I was wondering how long you could keep quiet," Minato said, running alongside them. "We're heading to the border near the Land of Earth to guard against attacks from Iwa Ninja Village and Sunagakure, and we'll also provide emergency support if needed."
"Meow! Obito, steady up!"
Raj nearly tumbled off, patting his "mount" to warn him. The jostling was so rough, even lying down was uncomfortable.
"You could just go over to Kakashi's side," Obito grumbled resentfully.
"..."
Raj settled down, gripping Obito's shoulder.
'If that Kakashi could carry me, I'd have jumped over long ago. He's faster and steadier than Obito. But no one's letting me!'
Of course, Raj had tried. He'd even earned some Panel Points that way - not much, but enough for a day's worth of Cat Food.
Out on missions, it was truly pathetic that only one Chunin and two Genin could earn Points from a Jonin with such a good temper.
Suddenly, a ninja appeared in a tree ahead, kunai and explosive tags in hand, his posture radiating extreme vigilance.