When that time came, Raj, as the owner and partner, would take his share of the profits and perhaps even request a custom-designed cottage renovation - nothing unreasonable, right?
'Nothing unreasonable, right?'
Of course, these plans weren't suitable for discussion just yet.
Currently, Sora Uemori was still on his merchant run, and his life goals remained utterly uninspired.
Once he finished this trip, returned home to face his family's scolding, then would be the perfect time to bring up these ideas.
After all, this fool had insisted on upgrading a C-rank mission to a B-rank urgent assignment - how terrified of death could he be?
No wonder he'd get a tongue-lashing.
'What a coward,' Raj thought inwardly.
After reaching the small town, their squad quickly parted ways with Sora Uemori's group.
Leaving the town behind, Raj led the rest of the team northward.
Guy remained oblivious, but Ebisu was the first to notice the problem.
This time.
"Lord Chimei, this isn't the way back to the village, is it?"
"Meow!"
Raj, perched on Guy's shoulder, nodded gently.
Genma Shiranui's eyes narrowed slightly.
'This route... Wait, isn't that the front lines?!'
He was instantly alarmed and immediately said, "Lord Chimei, have you forgotten Lord Third's words?"
"Meow?"
Raj paused, then remembered the Third Hokage's warning: "If anything goes wrong, all the backlog missions will be assigned to it."
After a moment's consideration, it decided to ignore the warning for now.
'First, I'll take them to the training ravine, then use the Flying Thunder God Technique to find Jiraiya on my own. Hmm, that sounds perfect.'
'Too bad I can't use Shadow Clone. If I could, I could send a clone to negotiate, then just dispel it afterward.'
'Why make things so complicated?'
'But Shadow Clone costs 6,000 Points... That's a bit steep!'
Raj pondered for a long time but couldn't bring itself to spend the Points.
It still had a mountain of items to exchange for, so it couldn't afford to waste Points on this.
As they approached the training grounds, a thought suddenly struck it.
"Meow... Before Asuma went to the front lines, did he say anything to you? Like, about going to the battlefield to complete missions and earn merit?"
Guy looked utterly bewildered.
Ebisu and Genma exchanged glances before nodding slightly.
"He said he wanted to prove he's not inferior to Kakashi and would fight on the front lines to get promoted to Chunin."
"Meow!"
Raj nodded gently, satisfied.
'Bringing them here would be the perfect public execution for Asuma - a spectacle showcasing Asuma's supposed valor on the front lines. Perfect.'
Raj suddenly felt a surge of excitement.
"Let's pick up the pace. Anyone who falls behind will face extra punishment later," Raj announced, leaping off Guy's shoulder to lead the way.
Though it didn't use its full speed, none of the other three - except Guy - could keep up.
They raced to the small mountain hollow, where Asuma Squad was indeed waiting.
However, the first person to appear wasn't Asuma or his teammates, but...
"Oh, it's Raj. What brings you here? A mission or just coming to relieve someone?"
'Naoki? Brother, it's been days! Are you still here babysitting the young master?'
Raj suppressed a chuckle, careful not to show any amusement.
After all, Naoki had taken the blame for its actions, resulting in the Special Jonin being reassigned to supervise Asuma here.
'Don't laugh, don't laugh!'
Raj silently warned itself, then nodded slightly and said, "Meow~ I have a B-rank mission in the north, so I stopped by to check on Asuma. I brought some classmates to see him too, meow.
Don't mention this when you call him over - I want to surprise him."
"...A surprise? Just act like a normal person for once."
Naoki mentally lit a candle for Asuma.
The boy already had a fragile ego; this would likely shatter it completely.
'How tragic.'
'Come to think of it, while Kurenai deserved much of the blame for Asuma's miserable state, what grudge did this Black Cat hold against him?'
Naoki didn't understand, but it wasn't his place to ask.
He simply nodded and said, "I'll go get him."
Raj glanced over and pulled Guy aside under a nearby tree.
Soon after, he returned with Asuma.
Asuma looked terrible, his face covered in bruises.
Yet he appeared much stronger than before, both physically and in his demonstrated speed.
"Lord Naoki, why did you call me here...? Does this mean I can finally go to the battlefield?"
"Cough, no, that's not it."
Naoki was still trying to explain when someone ran out from under the trees, their face lighting up at the sight of Asuma.
Two more figures quickly followed, landing beside Guy.
It was Genma Shiranui and Ebisu, who had rushed to the scene.
Genma's eyes widened at the sight of Asuma.
"Asuma? Weren't you supposed to be on the front lines for a mission? What... Oh, this must be special training."
"Cough, special training, special training, I understand," Ebisu said, tugging at Genma's sleeve.
Asuma felt a wave of shame wash over him.
He had boasted to his friends about his ability to serve on the front lines, claiming he was embodying the Will of Fire to serve Konoha.
But after arriving, he had received a harsh reality check.
Even now, he was still stuck training in this mountain ravine.
The only difference was that instead of just his squad, several other Genin teams were now sparring with them.
The bruises on his face were from those sparring sessions.
"Meow~ Looks like you're making good progress. I'm leading a B-rank mission to the northern region and missed you all, so I came to check on your training."
Raj leaped onto Guy's shoulder.
Asuma flinched at the cat's meow, instantly understanding why the trio had appeared here: the cat had led them.
'Wait... Team Leader?'
He stared at Raj in disbelief.
Naoki, also realizing something was amiss, turned to Raj and, after a long, scrutinizing look, asked, "You're a Team Leader Jonin now?"
"Meow! I did a few trivial things for the village recently and was promoted to Jonin just a few days ago," Raj replied with a self-deprecating air that made everyone want to punch him - especially Naoki, who had been a Special Jonin for over a decade and desperately wanted to advance.
'You bastard!'
Naoki clenched his fists so tightly his teeth nearly drew blood.
'I want to be a Jonin too, not stuck in this ravine training these Genin! There's no glory in this!'
As for Asuma, his mental state was even more fractured.
Raj he used to bully at will was now a Jonin, his true strength unknown but undoubtedly formidable.
'And what about me?