'Always squatting on my head... It's impossible to handle private matters.'
"Meow?"
Raj finally turned his head.
He stared intently at the Third Hokage before realizing, "Am I disrupting your work? Meow!
I'll leave immediately!"
With that, he swiftly leaped off the roof.
The Third Hokage's Shadow Clone peeked over the eaves and saw Raj sprawled against the office window.
'What's it up to now? Can't I just get some work done? Where's the Hokage's dignity?'
The Third Hokage turned and locked eyes with Raj clinging to the glass.
Moments later, the Hokage Guard appeared.
Seeing the cat pressed against the window, they immediately knelt and asked, "Lord Hokage, should we...?"
"Never mind. Stand down," the Third Hokage waved them away, his head aching.
He didn't want his orderly office turning into a spectacle.
He lit a cigarette with a sigh, regretting his recent decision to summon the cat back.
If it hadn't returned, none of this trouble would have happened.
Take today, for example.
The casino owner had sent over Tsunade's gambling debts, hoping the Third Hokage would cover them.
Everyone knew Tsunade was broke.
She lived paycheck to paycheck, and her limited savings had likely been gambled away over the years.
Now that the debts were coming to the village, what could he do?
But then he realized: if Raj hadn't returned, Tsunade wouldn't have had the chance to sneak back to the village.
'I've brought this upon myself!'
The Third Hokage winced at the sight of the bill.
This wasn't village funds; it was coming straight out of his own pocket.
Thankfully, Tsunade had shown some restraint and stopped after losing a substantial amount.
If she had gone completely berserk and lost a fortune, the Third Hokage would have been helpless.
He couldn't simply ignore it.
The casino operated legally within the village and was an established institution dating back to the First Hokage's era.
Closing it down was out of the question.
If Tsunade's losses became too excessive, the village would have to cover her debts and ban her from the casino.
What else could he do?
"Meow... Oh, right."
"Huh?"
The Third Hokage jumped in surprise when a black cat suddenly appeared on his desk, his hand trembling so violently that he smudged the character he was writing.
He stared at the cat, utterly bewildered.
'What's it doing here? Can't I get any work done? And when did this thing put a Flying Thunder God Seal on my desk? How did I not notice...?'
"Meow~ That Ebisu is so reserved, but his mind is full of mischievous ideas. If he had a good teacher, he might actually amount to something."
Raj trailed off, but the Third Hokage understood his meaning perfectly.
"Ebisu?" the Third Hokage mused for a moment before nodding in agreement.
According to the Ninja Academy's assessment, Ebisu was exceptionally bright.
He excelled in theoretical studies, kunai throwing, and hand seals, but Taijutsu remained his weak point.
If Guy were to teach him, the boy would likely be ruined.
What Raj didn't say aloud was that, in his opinion, only two people in the village were truly suited to mentor Ebisu: Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya.
The former was the better choice.
They were both equally reserved and mischievous.
Perhaps it was this shared temperament that later led the Third Hokage to invite Ebisu to his home as a teacher - a case of birds of a feather flocking together.
The Third Hokage glanced at Raj, knowing it was undoubtedly plotting something again.
However, the immediate concern wasn't the cat's schemes, but the three children.
He pressed on.
"What about Genma?"
"He's doing well, but he needs to learn a one-hit-kill Ninjutsu, preferably a Ninja Tool technique, to compensate for his weak attack power," Raj suggested.
Was that subtle enough?
Anyone with half a brain would understand what Raj was suggesting, so he stopped there, leaving the hint hanging in the air.
He then continued to wander around the Hokage's Office as if it were his own home.
'Get this black cat out of here soon. Just looking at him irritates me.'
'Sigh...'
The cat was undeniably powerful and exceptionally intelligent, but his personality was a major problem.
After a wave of irritation, the Third Hokage calmed himself and reviewed the files of Guy and his teammates.
He had to admit that Raj's assessment was spot-on.
'Teach them ninjutsu? They were too young; their chakra reserves were insufficient for many techniques, let alone the necessary chakra control.'
However, the Third Hokage already had an idea for a suitable ninjutsu for Genma Shiranui: The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
This technique could be used with various ninja tools, but it was most effective with the massive Demon Wind Shuriken.
However, it was an A-rank technique.
'Let them practice it for now.'
Minato had mentioned that Raj had helped supervise Kakashi and Obito at the Northern Camp.
'They shouldn't develop any bad habits under his guidance.'
The Third Hokage had unwavering trust in Minato, even more so than in his own disciple Jiraiya.
If Minato vouched for Raj's abilities, then they must be true.
Of course, Raj remained completely unaware of all this.
If Raj had known that Minato was responsible for bringing him back to Konoha to babysit, he would have given Minato a good thrashing.
As for the strength issue, everyone had the Flying Thunder God Technique - it wasn't like one was a bootleg version and the other the real deal.
Who was afraid of whom?
The Hokage's Office wasn't particularly interesting.
Raj stayed only to squeeze some Points out of the Third Hokage.
From earlier until now, his account had gained over a thousand Points.
For Raj at this point, even a few dozen or a hundred Points were precious, let alone several hundred or a thousand.
He had too many Ninjutsu waiting to be exchanged, but his pockets were empty.
After causing another minor disturbance and finding no further Points...
'As expected of a seasoned Hokage, your composure is top-notch. I hereby declare you the most Zen Hokage.'
'Well, no choice but to leave.'
Raj wasn't truly idle.
From the rooftop earlier, he could at least observe Guy and the others' condition.
Staying in the Hokage's Office left him completely in the dark, only catching glimpses when Guy ran over.
The real concern was that stubborn guy.
Genma and the brooding man were already on the verge of collapse, yet Guy was still dragging them along.
This could easily lead to fatalities.
Even running can kill you.
Judging by the time, they should be finishing up soon.
Raj couldn't afford to linger any longer.
He waved a paw at the Third Hokage, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to
He teleported directly beside Ebisu.
Ebisu looked utterly miserable.
"Don't... run... I'm... I'm..."
His hand was weakly gripped by Guy, and he mumbled incoherently, his glasses sliding down his nose.