Also, how can we contact you?"
"Meow~ Yes, but are you prepared to pay the price?"
"We're willing to form an alliance with your clan. Let's set aside the prophecy for now. Our common enemy is Danzo, so we have room for cooperation. Dawn also has value to offer in an alliance with you."
Yahiko was both serious and shrewd.
He had deduced from Raj's subtle hints that the cat also wanted to eliminate Danzo.
Otherwise, Raj wouldn't have gone to such lengths to warn them.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
"Meow~ The Cat Clan can't directly participate, but I can help you. If you need to contact me, write down your message and leave it in the forest. I'll send a clan member to retrieve it."
After explaining the so-called "reconnaissance technique," which was actually Pain's Rain Tiger at Will Technique, Raj felt a smug satisfaction at generously offering what wasn't his to give.
Nagato didn't dwell on the details.
Upon hearing the technique's principles, he immediately began brainstorming how to implement it.
The three of them possessed exceptional talent.
After a brief discussion, they quickly developed a preliminary concept.
Seizing the opportunity, Raj dispelled his Shadow Clone.
"As expected, few leaders are truly fools, meow~ This is exhausting."
Raj stretched its limbs.
Overall, the situation had unfolded as expected.
It hadn't genuinely intended to deceive Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan.
After all, someone wielding the Rinnegan and another capable of leading Dawn couldn't possibly be fools.
Still, they were somewhat naive.
Had Raj not intervened, Yahiko would likely have met with Hanzo directly.
Hanzo's letter had struck a deep chord within Yahiko's heart, detailing Hanzo's vision for peace and the efforts he had made toward it.
The Second Great Ninja War, which Hanzo referred to as his "efforts for peace" in the letter, and the subsequent years of relative calm, were all claimed as his achievements.
To Yahiko and his group, this letter was a confession of love - a testament to the hearts of those who dared to dream.
Raj wasn't so noble.
Even without his precognitive abilities, receiving such a letter would only make him suspicious of the sender's motives, not moved to trust or admiration.
As he ate his special cat food to regain his strength, he couldn't help but sigh.
After stretching his limbs, Raj left home.
Having stayed indoors for three days, people were already coming to his door.
It was time to meet them and offer some "guidance" - after all, he was the Jonin team leader.
But where were they?
Having been out of touch for so long, and with Kakashi leading the team, finding them wasn't easy.
Though he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, he preferred to wait atop the Hokage Building, playing the patient hunter.
The Third Hokage considered driving him away, but remembering their last encounter... let him be, he thought.
Not long after, the damned cat left on its own.
The Third Hokage sighed softly.
He wanted to send the cat away, but as he'd admitted, the village was desperately short of capable team leaders.
While Raj had its flaws and wasn't ideally suited for the role, still...
Guy had only ever taken Genin-level missions, making Raj look exceptionally capable in comparison.
Still, it was absurd for Raj to remain in the village indefinitely.
A four-person team, including Kakashi, should be more than capable of handling a B-rank mission...
After a moment's deliberation, the Third Hokage decided to assign them a mission.
This would both get rid of Raj for now and provide valuable training for Kakashi and Guy.
As for the mission itself, the village was never short on tasks.
With reliable personnel stretched thin recently, many requests had piled up, waiting to be executed.
Any of these backlog missions would be B-rank or higher.
With this thought, he tapped on the ceiling.
On the roof, Raj heard the noise and immediately pricked up its ears, quickly identifying the sound as coming from the Third Hokage's office.
'What's up?'
It climbed down from the roof and saw the Third Hokage waving at it.
"Meow!"
Raj used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport into the room.
The Third Hokage cleared his throat, pulled a scroll from beneath the table, unfurled it, and laid it flat.
"There's a mission here I'd like your team to handle."
"Meow?"
Raj glanced at the scroll with suspicion.
'Damn it, they're sending me away again.'
'That old bastard Third Hokage still wants me out of the picture.'
But when Raj glanced at the scroll, he was even more surprised.
The first mission was a B-rank assignment: protect a merchant caravan traveling to the Land of Snow.
But beneath that, there was another A-rank mission: investigate the Snow Ninja Village.
'Snow Ninja Village?'
The name rang a bell.
After a moment of careful recollection, Raj finally remembered where he'd heard of it.
'But shouldn't the Land of Snow's ruler be focused on developing heating devices right now?'
'Why is the Third Hokage sending me to investigate this?'
'Very strange.'
"Recent intelligence suggests that Doto Kazahana has gathered a group of rogue ninja and secretly established the Snow Ninja Village. Go and investigate. This would normally be an Anbu mission, but we're short on personnel right now..."
The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, using the smoke to conceal his expression.
This Black Cat was too clever; he needed to be careful not to let his true intentions show.
"Lord, the Snow Ninja Village... meow, to what extent should I investigate?"
Raj pondered for a moment, and a plan began to form in his mind.
The Land of Snow had a type of Chakra Armor; he wondered if they had started researching it yet.
Moreover, the Land of Snow was sparsely populated.
After eliminating the Snow Ninja Village, they could suggest that Yahiko and his group relocate there or to the Land of Frost.
The question stumped the Third Hokage.
After a moment's hesitation, he finally said vaguely, "Try."
"to win them over."
"Understood, meow."
Raj waved a paw to indicate understanding, then stored the two scrolls in its item space and instantly teleported away using the Flying Thunder God Technique to find Kakashi and the others.
'This mission is the perfect opportunity to leave the village and avoid Danzo's watchful eyes.'
As the Third Hokage smoked his pipe, he pondered the matter of the Snow Ninja Village.
'The Snow Ninja Village...'
Whether the Snow Ninja Village was strong or weak had little impact on Konoha.
However, given its northern location, if the Land of Snow were willing to cooperate with Konoha, it could serve as a valuable springboard after war broke out between Konoha and the Iwa Ninja Village.
Of course, this was only feasible if they had sufficient manpower and the capability to carry out such an operation.