The massive stone statues weren't just decorations; they were the Hokage of past generations.
Beneath them stood the Hokage Building, and Ninja patrolled the village.
He couldn't believe this foolish cat hadn't seen any Konoha Ninja on its way here.
The foolish White Cat's voice caught in its throat.
It let out a disgruntled meow, its anger subsiding as it asked, "Really not selling?"
"Here, take two."
Raj used the Summoning Technique to conjure a bag of Cat Food, tore it open, and tossed over a couple of pieces.
He devoured the rest in the blink of an eye.
This wasn't ordinary special Cat Food; it was Ninja Cat Special Food, priced at 300 Points per portion.
The Nekomata pounced on the two pieces, catching them mid-air.
The moment they touched its tongue, it sensed the difference - this was nothing like the food it had tasted before.
"Meow... tsk, come and eat?!"
The Nekomata didn't understand the words, but it sensed the man wasn't saying anything kind.
Either he was cursing it or insulting it.
'Ugh, that cat is so disgusting! Ugh, that cat is so disgusting!'
The Double-Tailed Cat Matatabi failed to buy any cat food and left in a huff.
Truth be told, it didn't really want to leave, but as the Boss of Tenshu Pavilion in Ninja Cat Castle, it felt it would lose face to keep pestering someone who clearly refused to sell.
After hesitating for a long moment, it finally stalked away with haughty disdain, as if the cat food Raj offered wasn't worth its time.
But who was it fooling?
It desperately wanted to buy the food, but its pride wouldn't let it.
'What a stubborn fool,' Raj thought inwardly.
In the end, both cats left in mutual displeasure, though the Black Cat clearly held the upper hand.
While it regretted losing the sale, it wasn't a big deal.
After all, the Points were still safe.
As for the two or three pieces of cat food it had given away earlier... no matter.
The Points had been swiped from the Double-Tailed Cat anyway.
Consider it a reward for a loyal customer.
Raj took it all in stride.
With Points in hand, he felt like he owned the world.
Money was nice, but he didn't need it.
Given how obsessed that silly cat was with chasing him all the way to Konoha, it was bound to fall for his schemes sooner or later.
After finishing its Cat Food, it curled up at home to catch up on sleep.
Lately, it had been constantly training and running around, leaving no time for proper rest.
Rin, upon returning to Konoha, immediately went to the hospital.
As a Medical Ninja, she considered Konoha Hospital the ideal training ground.
Having mastered the Needle Jizo technique, she no longer needed to worry about self-defense for the time being.
However, her return wasn't solely for learning Medical Ninjutsu; she also wanted to study poisons.
While she didn't necessarily need to learn how to create poisons, she needed to understand them thoroughly.
Konoha's Ninja were always busy.
The next day, Minato's Team regrouped for another mission.
Normally, missions required all members to be present to begin, but their team was unique: in addition to a captain and three members, there was also a cat...
Therefore, Rin received special permission to continue her studies at the hospital, while Kakashi led Obito and the Little Black Cat on routine missions.
These tasks were simple, such as finding lost cats and dogs or fetching water, and all took place within Konoha's vicinity.
They were never assigned missions involving cats and dogs in Kyoto.
'Exploitation of labor, indeed!'
Fortunately, Raj didn't have to fetch water.
Its main responsibilities were tracking down cats and dogs, assisting with simple tasks, and ensuring all rewards and mission data were properly recorded.
Of course, as a Ninja Cat, the rewards belonged to Raj, but the mission data went to Rin.
Raj was just a hardworking wage earner.
It's worth noting that the Little Black Cat had already secretly put on the Ninja Cat uniform gifted with the mission.
The uniform came with customization features.
It could transform into any style Raj desired, and its size adjusted automatically as the cat grew or shrank.
Overall, it was an excellent piece of equipment, with only one flaw: once damaged, it couldn't be repaired.
This was a significant drawback.
Additionally, Raj had nearly fully digested the Natural Energy it had absorbed.
Its belly was only slightly swollen, and it would likely be completely digested within a few more days.
By comparing its reflection in the mirror, Raj could confirm it had grown noticeably larger.
Its current size now surpassed that of many one-year-old Ninja Cats, and it could even wield the iron ball it had won in a lottery, though it still couldn't throw it very far.
Raj had tested the iron ball during missions.
At best, he could hurl it about ten meters.
Beyond that distance, his accuracy plummeted, and the ball automatically returned to his item space one second after landing.
When it hit someone, the impact was considerable.
However, to reliably strike enemies, the Little Black Cat still needed to grow stronger.
With his current strength, using the iron ball was simply not worth the effort.
These minor missions continued for ten days.
During this time, the Double-Tailed Cat secretly visited several times, but unfortunately, it never caught Raj, finding only his familiar scent lingering behind.
Feeling fully nourished, Raj was about to devour another portion of Deluxe Cat Food when Minato, despite his busy schedule, accepted an A-Rank Mission to patrol the Land of Fire's border.
This mission required them to travel to the eastern edge of the Land of Fire, where Minato's Team would patrol the border shared with the Land of Water and Kumogakure.
Kumogakure and Kirigakure were currently at peace with Konoha, so the mission primarily involved routine security reconnaissance, keeping the difficulty relatively low.
Raj was reluctant to go.
Traveling to the border between Kumogakure and Kirigakure was practically crossing half the Land of Fire - who knew how far that journey would be!
However, for the sake of the team's safety, he had to follow.
Relying solely on the Summoning Technique, Rin would likely need a considerable amount of Chakra to summon him across such a vast distance, and long-range summons also had time limits.
Midday, inside a forest.
Raj and his team passed through the area and paused briefly.
Obito pulled out rice balls and began eating.
He had many friends among the women and elders of his clan, so he always brought plenty of portable food on missions.
Raj had initially planned to snatch one, but after sniffing the air, his eyes lit up.
The scent of food!
Someone was cooking in the forest!