Guy's level of mastery was beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Genma Shiranui and Ebisu were far behind, barely at the initial stages of Guy-fication.
Besides, once Guy took over, they'd be forced to Guy-fy whether they wanted to or not.
With that thought, Raj completely she'd any lingering guilt.
"The mandatory physical training ends here. From today onward, Guy, you will lead Genma and Ebisu in daily Taijutsu training, following the same schedule as before. Understand?"
Raj would no longer participate in Taijutsu training.
Taijutsu training was a long-term endeavor; four or five days wouldn't yield any significant progress.
Raj didn't want to waste time on it.
It was time to start teaching them the real substance.
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes~"
Genma Shiranui and Ebisu responded weakly.
With Guy in charge, their future days looked bleak.
However, they had already grown accustomed to the brutal training regimen and figured they could endure it if they gritted their teeth.
"Meow~"
But what should they teach?
Guy was the easiest to handle.
Raj had already decided to teach him the Front Lotus and its variations.
For Genma Shiranui, they had arranged for the Third Hokage to provide Ninjutsu training.
Only Ebisu remained...
'What's this guy even good for? He seems utterly useless.'
Raj's eyes swept the room.
"Let's find a mission first, see what's available, meow..."
They couldn't just keep doing farming and water-carrying tasks every day.
As a self-proclaimed elite Jonin, leading his team on water-carrying missions day after day was ridiculous.
They needed to take on some challenging assignments.
"Yay!" the trio shouted in unison.
Their enthusiasm for missions was unanimous; staying cooped up in the village was starting to make them restless.
Going abroad was out of the question.
Even with Raj leading the team, their missions would be confined to the vicinity of Konoha, for Guy and the others' safety.
Raj scanned the mission board from top to bottom.
Normally, it would be simple: just accept a cat- or dog-catching mission and be done with it.
But Raj figured that once Guy took over, they'd likely be stuck with such mundane tasks anyway.
Before leaving, he should at least find them a slightly more stimulating mission.
After scanning the board, he spotted an urgent mission.
Escort Mission.
Escort a merchant caravan to the northern Land of Fire.
Since the trade route was relatively close to the border, the caravan owner wanted to hire a small escort team.
Mission Difficulty: B-Rank.
Raj glanced at the notice and slapped the board.
With his paw.
"Meow~ This one!"
"This mission? Let me see... What?! B-Rank! Lord Chimei, this won't do! Genin teams can only accept D-Rank missions at most."
The Chunin's face paled.
A B-Rank mission was something many Jonin would approach with caution.
How could they entrust it to a cat and three Genin? This was practically sending them to their deaths!
"Meow~ Relax. I have the strength for this. If you don't believe me, you can ask Lord Third."
Raj was blunt.
With the Flying Thunder God Technique at his disposal, there was nowhere in the world he couldn't go.
Even with the three kids in tow, his power alone would be enough to fend off any threats and get them to safety.
Moreover, with Raj's combat prowess, he wouldn't even need to flinch against two or three Jonin - he'd just crush them all.
Besides... What Jonin would risk their lives infiltrating deep into the Land of Fire just to ambush an obscure merchant caravan?
That's like using an explosive tag to blow up an ant!
No one was extravagant enough to take on such a task, so it was classified as a B-rank mission.
The Chunin quickly consulted with the Third Hokage and returned with the verdict:
"You may accept this mission, but Lord Third has stipulated that if any complications arise, you must assist the village by resolving all recently accumulated missions."
"Meow?"
Raj stared in disbelief, his gaze sweeping over the stack of pending missions.
These weren't simple tasks like catching cats or fetching water.
They were missions to escort Ninja Tools to neighboring countries like Grass Country and Amegakure - all high-risk assignments with a high probability of encountering enemy ninja squads, each ranked A or higher.
'Damn it. That old geezer Third Hokage is eyeing my Flying Thunder God Technique and storage abilities, trying to turn me into his personal errand boy.'
Raj cursed inwardly.
Yet, after a moment, he decided it didn't matter.
Missions of this caliber were unlikely to pose any real challenge.
Raj's true purpose in accepting this task wasn't about completing the mission itself, but simply to visit the northern regions.
First, he wanted to bring Guy and his team to experience the atmosphere of the borderlands.
Second... Jiraiya's first volume had been published for over a month, and Tsunade had returned to find him, yet the royalties still hadn't been paid.
'Is Jiraiya trying to pocket half my earnings?'
Raj wondered, his anxiety and distrust of Jiraiya's character driving him to make this detour.
Royalties were a serious matter.
The Ninja Cat Castle required special testing paper to determine elemental affinities, and Kabuto needed funds to produce specialized Soldier Pills for the Cat Clan.
If the money didn't arrive soon, Raj feared Jiraiya would squander his limited royalties.
'He's perfectly capable of doing it. Just like in the anime, Jiraiya, despite possessing a fortune, would still drain Naruto's meager savings - utterly depraved.'
Before long, Raj spotted the merchant caravan.
The caravan leader looked strangely familiar... That was Raj's first thought upon seeing him.
Before he could place the face, the caravan leader spoke first:
"So it's your team taking on the mission? Hmm, where are Lord Minato and Kakashi?"
'Meow? He knows us?'
Raj pondered for a long moment, racking his memory, before finally recognizing the man.
An old acquaintance indeed.
During his last trip to the north, Minato had escorted a merchant caravan.
This merchant was one of the members of that caravan, though he wasn't the original leader - just a subordinate at the time.
"Meow~ I've been promoted to Jonin, and this is the team I'm leading."
"Uh... isn't this Lord Minato's team?" a young man in the caravan asked nervously.
They had assumed Minato was in charge, so seeing Raj had initially reassured them.
But this announcement implied the cat had become a Jonin and was now operating independently, meaning the four of them were the entire mission team.
'Are we doomed?'
"Meow~ Don't worry, I'm very strong."
If they weren't inside the village, Raj would have demonstrated his power with a swipe of his paw.
But a simple Expansion Jutsu would suffice.
In an instant, Raj grew to an enormous size, not his maximum, but still half the height of the Hokage Office.