But a moment later, he realized this could be a powerful way to earn Points, and might be necessary if they ever faced an unbeatable opponent.
Ninjas must utilize every resource available, and Ninja Cats are no different.
Raj's mind cleared instantly.
'Of course...'
If they could defeat their enemies honorably, who would choose to be a shameless, unscrupulous Ninja Cat?
After dealing with the aftermath, Rin provided initial treatment to Kakashi and healed Obito's wounds while he was unconscious.
Then she began treating Minato.
This was the advantage of having Medical Ninjas on the team.
Even with limited equipment, they could provide emergency care and maximize their teammates' chances of survival.
"Is Obito alright?"
Minato asked, unfamiliar with Obito's condition and unsure why he had fainted.
He consulted Rin while receiving treatment.
"He's just exhausted and unconscious," Rin replied.
"But earlier, he seemed to..."
"Opened his Sharingan, meow!"
Raj interjected.
Obito's drug-like reaction earlier clearly indicated that he had awakened the Sharingan, gaining the enhanced perception and predictive abilities necessary to evade Jinin Akebino's attacks with such agility and precision.
"Opened his Sharingan?"
Minato paused for a few seconds, then a genuine smile spread across his face.
This child had always cherished his eyes.
The fact that he awakened them because Kakashi was in danger showed how deeply he truly valued Kakashi as a comrade and partner.
'How wonderful...'
Minato thought to himself, his heart swelling with emotion.
He began pondering what gift he should give Obito upon their return to the village, and the thought completely absorbed him.
"Meow~ Lord Minato, perhaps you should focus on how we're going to get them back first?"
Raj, squatting nearby, suddenly doused his reverie with a cold dose of reality.
Snapping out of his daze, Minato looked around.
Five people, two of them half-incapacitated, and Obito still unconscious.
If Obito didn't wake up soon, there was no way to carry them all back.
After a moment's thought, he said,
"We need to call for help. Our situation makes it too risky to use signal flares. Check if there are any other teams nearby."
'Why me again? So I'm the strongest combatant now? But sending a little Ninja Cat like me to die when we're surrounded by enemies? Is that really a good idea?'
Raj grumbled inwardly.
"When we get back to the village... uh, I'll take you to Kyoto."
Minato had initially planned to treat Raj to a lavish feast, but then remembered he also needed to buy a gift for Kushina.
Treating both her and this gluttonous Ninja Cat might strain his finances, so he quickly changed his offer to a trip to Kyoto.
'Kyoto! Konoha's First Medical Ninja!'
Raj's eyes lit up, but when he turned and saw Rin's pleading gaze, he haughtily raised his head and leaped into the forest, vanishing into the shadows.
Felines were the apex predators of the jungle.
As long as he didn't encounter a Jonin, Raj's agility would allow him to escape.
If he did face a Jonin, well, there was little to be done but run, stall for time, and try to attract Minato's attention.
Raj suspected that the Flying Thunder God Technique seal on his body allowed Minato to teleport directly to his location.
Apart from Minato's occasional unreliability in critical moments, this seemed like a relatively safe arrangement.
As he sprinted through the forest, sniffing the air, Raj mused to himself.
This area bordered the Land of Iron and saw little traffic, so he ran for miles without detecting any scents.
His search eventually led him to the coast.
He was now quite far from Minato's location, but it was only here that Raj finally caught a human scent.
Whether it belonged to a ninja remained unclear; he would have to investigate further.
After searching for a long time, Raj finally caught a whiff of human scent.
Following the scent, he discovered a Konoha Ninja encampment.
Overjoyed, he immediately leaped into the middle of the road and called out toward the camp:
"Meow!"
This was to avoid being mistaken for an enemy and accidentally harmed.
"A"
"Cat?"
"Wait, it's a Ninja Cat. I'll go check it out."
The sentries and patrol members of the small squads immediately noticed Raj.
Two of them rose and approached him, one of whom was an Uchiha clan member.
"It's a Konoha Ninja Cat," one of the ninja remarked.
"Our squad encountered Kirigakure ninja," Raj summarized in a single sentence.
"We killed one enemy, but two of our members are critically injured and unconscious, and another is temporarily unconscious. The Jonin is temporarily incapacitated. We urgently need your support and protection."
The Uchiha ninja frowned slightly, then his eyes flashed with crimson tomoe.
After a quick scan, he confirmed there were no traces of Transformation Techniques and said, "Kirigakure ninjas... I'll take someone to investigate.
Stop cooking; eat Soldier Pills and increase coastal patrols. We must find out where they landed."
"Yes, sir!"
The camp immediately sprang into action, packing up tools and preparing to patrol the coastline.
A ninja arrived using the Body Flicker Technique.
The Uchiha ninja nodded and said, "Lead the way."
Raj retraced his steps, guiding them to where Minato and his team were resting.
Though they had moved, Raj tracked them down by scent.
"I didn't expect Raj to find you here," the Uchiha ninja remarked.
"Minato? With your strength, how could you be in such a state... The Kirigakure ninjas must be formidable."
The Uchiha ninja frowned.
They patrolled the coast daily, yet these ninjas had infiltrated without their notice.
"Masaki..."
"Escort them to the outskirts of Konoha and stay with them until they wake up or meet their new contacts. Also, use your Summoned Beast to tell the others that the enemy is very strong and we shouldn't spread out too much."
Masaki Uchiha made the decision swiftly.
If even Minato had suffered such a defeat, the enemy must indeed be formidable.
Furthermore, the Kirigakure ninja had infiltrated the border silently, a grave oversight for which they must take responsibility.
"Understood."
The ninja summoned several crows and dispatched them.
These crows, raised by him since they were young, possessed considerable intelligence.
Tasks like locating people and reconnaissance were effortless for them.
Raj observed closely and noticed a resemblance between this ninja and Aoba, Rin's classmate.
'Aoba's dad?'
Raj glanced over, then couldn't resist leaping up to swat one of the Ninja Ravens down and pin it under his paw.
"Eek! Don't kill it!"
Yuki Yamashiro, seeing the raven's terrified struggles, felt a pang of sympathy.
Raj released its paw.
The Ninja Raven frantically tried to fly away, but was immediately pinned down by the other paw.
Yuki Yamashiro wanted to protect his raven, but he was afraid the Little Black Cat might accidentally kill it if he used force.
"Raj, stop messing around," Minato finally said.
Only then did Raj release the poor raven, allowing it to fly off and continue its mission.
The Little Black Cat opened the System Panel and glanced at it.
'Gained over 400 points! Sweet!'
This was just a minor incident, and no one paid much attention to it.
Masaki Uchiha's focus was elsewhere, his eyes scanning the surroundings with extreme vigilance while observing the unconscious Uchiha clansman.
He vaguely recognized the clansman.
In the entire clan, only one person always wore goggles to protect his eyes and carried eye drops everywhere.
'What was his name again?'