Without Raj's help devising new strategies, they would have been stuck desperately taking on water-carrying missions.
Recently, Guy's Team had been handling nearly all the village's water-carrying tasks.
'What exactly are they up to?'
Kakashi followed them at a distance.
This area was Konoha's most desolate outskirts, with hardly any residences.
Why would they come all the way out here?
He couldn't quite figure it out.
"Meow~ Hide yourself first," Black Cat instructed with a flick of his paw.
Kakashi didn't fully understand, but he knew his teammates' peculiar sense of humor had struck again.
With a sigh, he reluctantly formed the hand seal for Earth Release.
As it turned out, he had a knack for pranks himself.
Too bad he didn't have a system.
Raj inwardly grumbled before spotting three figures in the distance running toward him, each carrying large buckets of water.
Guy's bucket was the largest, while Ebisu's was the smallest.
Considering their individual circumstances, each bucket was likely at its maximum weight.
"Lord Raj," the trio greeted, stopping in their tracks, assuming he had further instructions.
"Given my situation and yours, the village has sent someone to assist with your training. You must treat him with the same respect you show me, meow?"
Raj finished speaking, his gaze sweeping over the three of them.
"Another new teacher? I can't wait!"
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
"Awoo! My blood is boiling! Don't worry, Raj, I'll treat the teacher with the same respect I give you!"
Genma Shiranui was about to voice his "bad feeling" when Guy's overzealous roar cut him off.
He opened his mouth, but his gaze met Raj's eyes, and he reluctantly closed it again.
'Forget it. No need to tempt fate. Even if the outcome isn't ideal, it can't be worse than when Raj first arrived.'
Genma's eyes began scanning his surroundings.
He sensed someone nearby, but their exact location remained hidden.
Their ability to conceal their presence was remarkably refined.
Glancing at his two
'Clueless teammates... completely oblivious,' Genma grumbled inwardly.
'Teaming up with partners like this is a real headache.'
"Meow~ As long as you'll respect him, I'll let him out now," Raj chuckled.
Before he could even call out, Kakashi released his Earth Release and slowly emerged from the ground.
When his silver hair first peeked above the surface, Genma's heart skipped a beat.
As Kakashi fully emerged...
"Ahhh, Kakashi, my eternal rival! Let's have a heated duel!"
Guy recognized him instantly.
Ebisu, on the other hand, pushed up his glasses in disbelief.
He never imagined that Raj's "helper" would turn out to be Kakashi.
But upon reflection, it made sense.
If the village had anyone else available, why would they have sent Raj to lead the team?
The only ninjas free at the moment were Chunin, and among them, Kakashi was one of Raj's few acquaintances.
So why had he even held out hope earlier?
"Hey everyone, I'm Kakashi, your half-leader ninja. Let's skip the formalities. Guy, if you've got that much energy, why don't you go fetch some water first?" Kakashi said, his eyes half-closed.
"Uh, leader? You?"
Guy nearly dropped the water bucket in shock, staring wide-eyed at Raj as if seeking confirmation.
Raj nodded mercilessly.
"Waaah... This can't be happening! This shouldn't be happening! Kakashi is my eternal rival - how did he become my supervising Jonin...?" Guy wailed, tears streaming down his face.
How could they ever have proper duels now?
"Guy, go fetch the water first. Come back and continue carrying it after you're done," Kakashi repeated his earlier instruction.
"Yes, sir!" Guy cried as he ran off.
From that day forward, he could no longer have joyful duels with Kakashi. What meaning was left in life now?
Genma Shiranui sighed softly.
As expected, his intuition had been right.
How could Raj possibly bring them a reliable teacher?
If such a person existed, it wouldn't be stuck as a team-leading Jonin.
"Alright, everyone, start running!"
Kakashi waved his sword.
'Hurry up and leave! You bunch of nuisances, don't interfere with my Ninjutsu research.'
Genma Shiranui and Ebisu had no choice but to start running alongside the group, watching them depart.
A strange sense of satisfaction washed over Kakashi.
In the past, whenever he encountered Guy, he had to rack his brain for ways to deal with the hot-blooded, chuunibyou teenager.
But now, he didn't need to bother anymore.
If Guy ever challenged him to a duel again, he could simply assign him a new training regimen.
'Brilliant!'
"How's it going, meow? Feeling good?"
"Mmm... no, not really. I'm just doing this for their sake. Ahem, back to my Ninjutsu research," Kakashi responded absently, then immediately denied it when he realized what he'd said.
Raj didn't mind.
The strategy to get Kakashi involved had already succeeded.
Despite his reluctant words, Kakashi's actions showed he was dutifully helping train Guy's team.
With this settled, Raj only needed to assist Kakashi from now on.
Kakashi could then manage Guy's team... the perfect absentee manager.
With Kakashi taking over, Raj's workload eased considerably.
While he couldn't completely abandon his duties, the time he spent supervising Guy and the others was reduced from a full day to half a day or even less.
For instance, fetching water in the morning required no supervision at all.
Raj casually made up an excuse to leave.
Once he was alone, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to Ninja Cat Castle.
He had initially planned to check on the progress of the tasks he had assigned the previous day, but upon arriving at the castle...
"Meow!"
"Catch him, meow!"
"Chase him!"
Chaos erupted as cats scattered in a frenzy.
Looking down, Raj spotted a white cat curled up asleep in the corner, snoring loudly.
Clearly, the moment he had given it the luxurious cat food yesterday, the foolish creature had devoured it all.
'Such an impatient, idiotic cat.'
Raj mentally scoffed before leaping off Matatabi's head and exiting the room.
He immediately saw a group of cats scurrying around inside, seemingly searching for something.
A moment later, one of the cats darted out.
It was Amakusa, one of the four Ninja Cats Matatabi had selected recently.
His name was easy to remember, and Raj remembered him particularly well because he was the only other Feng Shui-aligned Ninja Cat among the group.
"Amakusa," Raj called out.
In the next instant, the blue-furred kitten skidded to a halt mid-run, turned back, and approached Raj.
Upon seeing Raj, it immediately lowered its head slightly, attempting to express its submission and affection.