Meanwhile, Obito, eavesdropping outside the tent out of worry and curiosity, nearly turned green with envy.
'Listen to this! Is this even human language? Fighting six opponents and then hesitating over such a prestigious reward? Even though I don't know what the reward is, it can't be anything less than extraordinary. After all, that cat is nothing like me. I'm truly...'
Obito nearly burst into tears.
The disparity in treatment between humans and cats was simply too great.
Just as his composure shattered and he turned to leave, Minato glanced in his direction from inside the tent, pondered for a moment, then bowed slightly to Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade, I must leave now. Raj..."
"Don't worry," Tsunade waved him off.
She glanced outside, then tapped the table.
"Actually, what I wanted to say was this: after the war, come with me. Let's leave this filthy village and find a place to rebuild your shattered heritage."
'Meow? Filthy village? Shattered heritage?'
Raj paused, taken aback.
Tsunade's imagination ran wild, but it made sense.
If the Sacred Land hadn't been destroyed, how could a kitten with such a lineage have ended up on the streets of Konoha?
Moreover, the cat possessed Sage Art Chakra.
Mastering the Sage Art Chakra Refinement Method was one of the hallmarks of a Sacred Land.
Tsunade initially doubted the existence of a fourth Sacred Land.
To confirm, she summoned the Slug Sage and asked.
The Slug Sage replied, "The world is vast. Nothing is impossible."
"Meow~ Do you think I should leave the village?" Raj asked, lowering his voice.
Tsunade's heartfelt words had moved him.
"What's the point of staying? That old dog Danzo hasn't revealed his true colors yet, but once the war ends, he'll start his scheming again. Then not just you, but me, Orochimaru, even Jiraiya could be in danger."
Tsunade scoffed coldly.
She didn't know what Orochimaru had been doing during his years away from the village, but she refused to believe Danzo hadn't played a part in it.
Once the birds are gone, the bow is discarded.
"Meow! But... can't we change my apprenticeship?"
Raj licked its paw, realizing it had truly become Tsunade's disciple.
Calculating lineage, it would be Jiraiya's grandnephew-how utterly humiliating!
"You still want to be my little brother?" Tsunade asked irritably, but her hand, which had been resting on her chin, unconsciously tightened around her necklace, her interest waning.
"Do you have any information on Sage Mode, meow?!"
Raj rubbed his paws together.
The "little brother" thing was just a figure of speech; what truly mattered was Sage Mode.
Now that's the real treasure.
"Sage Mode? I have some notes, mostly from my Second Grandfather's research. But I don't actually know how to use it properly, and the Slug Sage never taught me either."
Tsunade paused, her expression turning peculiar.
'If he already has Sage Art Chakra, why is he asking me about Sage Mode? Is this another one of his tricks? Can't cats and humans ever be sincere with each other?'
Feeling weary, she stared silently at Raj.
Seeing his genuine urgency, she reluctantly nodded.
"If you really want it, fine."
"Meow! And what about the Second Hokage's Water Release manuscripts? Could I...?"
Raj's eyes lit up as he realized what else he needed.
Tsunade didn't know what to say, so she simply nodded.
But she immediately added.
"This is the last one. There's nothing else."
'So stingy?'
Raj felt a pang of disappointment, but if there really was nothing left, he'd have to accept it.
These notes were already incredibly valuable-they'd easily be worth several thousand Points combined.
'Isn't this far more valuable than some mere Jonin title?'
"Alright, stop loitering around here. You're annoying me. Go to sleep."
Tsunade waved him away.
It was nearly midnight.
Those reckless Kiri Ninja had the audacity to disturb her sleep in the middle of the night.
If it weren't for them, she'd already be sound asleep.
No, to be precise, if those bastards hadn't attacked the Land of Fire, she wouldn't have been forced to stay here.
If she hadn't been stuck here, she'd probably be gambling at some casino right now.
Raj heard the clatter of dice from inside the tent and glanced back with disdain.
He really wanted to go back and say, 'If your luck is this bad, you should quit gambling.'
Tsunade's gambling luck was truly abysmal.
Even when playing for fun, she never won.
It was hard to imagine what kind of luck the First Hokage, who taught her to gamble, must have had.
'Forget it. I should just go to sleep. Saying that would be suicidal. He'd get beaten to a pulp.'
"Obito, it's late. You should go to bed."
Obito was running laps around the training ground.
After running for a while, he suddenly heard Minato's voice behind him.
Without turning around, he wiped his eyes before turning to say, "Teacher, what are you doing here?"
"Obito, I've been too busy lately and haven't been able to give you enough attention. Raj's techniques aren't suited for you either. Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you how to train properly," Minato said, patting Obito's head, feeling deeply guilty.
Obito was a good kid, but Minato himself was in a difficult position.
His own techniques weren't particularly suited for Obito either...
His signature Flying Thunder God Technique and Rasengan were both extremely advanced ninjutsu, while the lower-level techniques were mostly basic ones like Great Breakthrough.
More importantly, Minato had never been a teacher before.
Until recently, he had been Jiraiya's disciple himself and was still under twenty years old...
"Teacher, I'm fine. I just came out to train a bit," Obito said with a goofy grin.
"Hmm, after this hard-fought battle, Kirigakure won't be making any moves for a while. I'll take you all out to explore for the next few days, and teach you some new Ninjutsu and Taijutsu along the way."
Minato nodded slightly.
"Really? We can go out now? Yes! That's amazing!" Obito exclaimed, his face lighting up with joy.
He had been stuck in the camp for so long, watching everyone else achieve great things, and he was utterly fed up with it.
With this promise, Obito immediately went to sleep.
It wasn't a big deal, really.
He just felt that Kakashi and the others were getting all the attention.
Raj, who had been a timid little kitten when they first met, had now become a Jonin capable of effortlessly defeating enemy Jonin.
Meanwhile, Obito...
He practiced Taijutsu every day, but no one taught him Ninjutsu or even told him how to train properly.
It felt utterly hopeless.
But now everything was fine.
Teacher Minato still remembered him.
"Huh? Obito, your eyes..."
"Ah?"
Obito froze for a moment, then excitedly removed his headband.