Thanks to Great Benefactor Chiyo's continuous contributions, Raj had already earned two to three hundred points in no time.
This was even with his "doing good deeds without seeking recognition" policy.
If he'd revealed his identity, he might have already surpassed ten thousand points in a single wave.
Unfortunately, this mission required complete anonymity.
Even Minato had to use Shadow Clones to conceal his Flying Thunder God Technique, let alone Raj.
'Just a little bit more!'
Raj grew anxious and glanced back, snapping impatiently, "Meow~ Hurry up, you genius! Saving people is the mission now!"
"You!"
Kakashi glared at Raj, who had widened the gap between them and delivered another taunt.
Enraged, he activated Lightning Release Chakra to stimulate his body.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, he surged forward, overtaking Raj.
Moments later, he had left Raj a dozen steps behind.
But the next second...
Swish!
A soft rustle of leaves followed, and Raj vanished from his spot.
Kakashi froze, dumbfounded.
He couldn't help but curse the cat inwardly.
'So, you sensed the summons and had to get one last jab in before leaving? Just be a damn cat!'
A thousand words coalesced into a single, muttered curse as Kakashi sprinted forward, leaving no room for hesitation.
The Anbu ninja behind him were momentarily stunned before accelerating to keep pace.
On the battlefield ahead, Raj instantly activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, using the seal left by Minato on Rin as its coordinate.
The process took a few seconds for it to comprehend, but with the System's assistance, it wasn't difficult.
When Raj arrived beside Rin, even she was momentarily taken aback.
She didn't remember using the Summoning Technique, but this wasn't the time to dwell on such matters.
She had sustained only minor injuries, but Obito was far more severely wounded, lying motionless on the ground.
His body was covered in wounds, barely clinging to life.
As Raj arrived, Rin and Matatabi were struggling to lift Obito onto the cat's back.
"Meow?"
"Shirobai, carry Obito and me on your back. Raj, stay close and protect us... More Sunagakure border patrol ninja could arrive at any moment."
With a final, forceful push, Rin managed to shove Obito onto Matatabi's back.
"Meow!"
Raj darted ahead, clearing a path for them.
Rin was right.
This was the Land of Wind, and lingering would only attract more ninja.
Escape was their best option.
But...
There were over a dozen corpses on the ground, and Minato was still pursuing another dozen.
That meant Obito had single-handedly withstood an assault from nearly thirty ninja?
'He must have opened at least the Third Gate!'
'No, he also had the Sharingan.'
'The question now was: just how many cheat codes had this guy activated?'
Using the Sharingan explained why Minato was so determined to eliminate him.
Raj continued to lead the way.
Not that
it needed to do much.
Minato was already chasing down the remaining dozen ninja alone.
Having exposed his Sharingan, he no longer bothered concealing his identity, using the Flying Thunder God Technique with reckless abandon.
After running for a while, Raj spotted a small squad of ninja.
Their attire marked them as shinobi from Sunagakure.
'Troublesome, but this is the perfect opportunity for my "Black Flash" to make a name for itself!'
Raj grinned, then retrieved the Cat Ninja Shuriken he had purchased from Granny Cat earlier.
He pressed a cat paw print onto each one before swiftly launching them into the night.
Since the shuriken weren't specially crafted, the paw prints would only last a short time.
But that was enough!
After throwing the shuriken, he donned the cat-claw gloves Orochimaru had given him.
"Someone's here!"
The Sunagakure Ninja squad leader, who had been dispatched from the border as reinforcements, immediately went on high alert upon hearing the commotion.
The night was dark.
Lacking abilities like the Byakugan or the night vision of cats, their ability to discern targets was severely limited.
They had to rely solely on sound to pinpoint the enemy's location.
But in the next instant-
Whoosh!
He saw a figure darting back and forth between the flying shuriken, even using his back as a springboard.
The speed was blinding, and the darkness made it nearly impossible to identify the attacker.
Then, three of his teammates clutched their throats, letting out strangled cries.
He immediately formed hand seals to summon a Sand Clone, but at that moment, he met the attacker's eyes.
It was a black cat!
He recoiled in horror, only to see the creature transform into something utterly terrifying, like a messenger of death shrouded in endless deathly aura.
Wherever it passed, plants withered to ash and all life withered away...
'This guy has quite the imagination. It's a shame he's a ninja.'
This was the Hell-Viewing Technique, a relatively simple illusion, but its effectiveness lay in its element of surprise.
It had certainly proven its worth this time.
'An illusion!'
By the time he realized the truth, it was too late.
Raj used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport beside him, then slashed across his throat with a claw.
Orochimaru's cat-claw gloves were exceptionally effective-razor-sharp and utterly unhindered.
One strike, and it was all over.
"Meow?"
Matatabi, who had just arrived, was stunned.
In the blink of an eye, an entire ninja squad had been wiped out!
'This is ridiculous!'
The cat froze for a moment, but quickly snapped out of it under Raj's warning gaze and darted forward.
After running a short distance away, Raj combined the Expansion Jutsu with the Transformation Technique to transform his claws into fists.
He then unleashed a furious barrage of punches on the corpse, leaving behind massive fist-shaped craters and a body nearly flattened into a pancake in the blink of an eye.
'Hmm... now there's no trace of cat claw marks.'
Having destroyed the evidence, Raj used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport back to Rin's side.
This journey was destined to be fraught with peril.
They had to cross Sunagakure's heavily fortified border and couldn't return directly to the Land of Fire, facing formidable obstacles at every turn.
Fortunately, so far, they had managed to escape unscathed.
"How's Obito doing, meow?"
"He has multiple ligament tears," Rin said. "Each one needs treatment with the Mystical Palm Technique, but thankfully, none are life-threatening. I can heal most of them."
Rin first used Medical Ninjutsu to treat the external injuries, then meticulously healed each ligament tear with the Mystical Palm Technique.
It was indeed the Third Gate.
"Meow..."
"Meow!"
Raj and Matatabi communicated far more easily than humans.
A few meows were usually enough for them to understand each other.
Matatabi was also injured, but his healing rate was decent.
Since his wounds were mostly superficial, they had already largely healed by now.