This Special Jonin had spent a few brief days with Raj, a period Raj found quite enjoyable due to the steady influx of Points.
For Naoki, however, it was far from pleasant.
Every day was spent enduring the torment of being utterly outmatched.
Upon returning to Camp, he briefly questioned his entire existence.
'Are humans truly inferior to even Ninja Beasts?'
Later, he relentlessly abused Gaku Inuzuka's foolish dog dozens of times, finally restoring his confidence.
It wasn't him who was the problem, but that damned cat.
Thus, Naoki resolved to avoid any future missions involving Raj.
Otherwise, his dignity as a Special Jonin would be completely shattered.
Little did he know...
"Meow~ Senior Naoki, I didn't expect to see you here."
Raj's lazy, slightly mocking voice grated on Naoki's ears.
Though the mockery was only his own interpretation, he couldn't deny he'd rather not have Raj appear before him.
"Lord Jiraiya ordered me to train two classes with you."
Naoki sighed, then glanced around curiously.
"Where are the students?"
"They've already left. We need to catch up."
Raj had considered using the Flying Thunder God Technique, but remembering Jiraiya's warning against using it lightly, he restrained himself.
Fortunately, he had a free ride, saving him the effort.
Naoki sighed again.
'Meeting this cat was truly... Never mind. It was to be expected.'
Not far ahead, Kakashi and the others were running at a steady, slow pace, with Asuma leading the way in all his glory.
"Asuma, slow down!"
"Need me to wait for you guys? Can't handle these weights? Perseverance is part of the Will of Fire, you know!"
Rin sighed softly, unsure how to reason with Asuma.
Just as she was about to try again, Obito stopped her.
"Rin, just let him go. We're the underdogs here anyway. We'll catch up eventually."
"Hmm."
Kakashi rarely agreed, but Asuma was indeed overdue for a lesson.
His showboating would quickly drain his stamina.
By the time the actual training began, that guy would be reduced to a panting, immobile mess on the ground by the Black-Hearted Cat.
It wasn't that Kakashi was deliberately trying to screw him over - it was just that Asuma's antics were truly unbearable.
Kurenai and Tsurugi followed suit, trailing behind Kakashi and the others.
As for Asuma...
Among the five, only Kurenai could reason with him, but she was secretly enjoying watching him fail.
In fact, she hoped he'd get an even harsher lesson later.
'Will of Fire, Will of Fire, Will of Fire... It's driving me crazy! This just proves that simping never pays off.'
Tsurugi's reasoning was even simpler: if Kakashi was running this slowly, he just needed to follow suit.
The group leisurely made their way to the training grounds, where Asuma was already waiting with his hands clasped behind his back, looking smug for some reason.
Kakashi considered their relationship.
Since they were still on decent terms, he decided to offer a word of advice.
"Asuma, I suggest you take a Soldier Pill to replenish your stamina."
"Soldier Pill? No need. I can last until the end of training just fine."
Asuma shook his head, completely missing Kakashi's unspoken warning.
Obito stood beside him, shaking his head and sighing with schadenfreude, while Rin wore a look of pity.
'This kid's going to get wrecked later. But if he won't listen, who can he blame but himself?'
With Kurenai holding her back, Rin gave up trying to reason with him.
Just then, Naoki and Raj arrived at a leisurely pace.
Naoki waved casually at the group.
He could have been here much earlier, but Raj had held him back when he saw Asuma leading the charge.
The whole group was scheming to prank the 'Young Master.'
But Asuma was asking for it.
Wasn't Kakashi clearly more capable?
Seeing Kakashi act so timid should have raised red flags.
His thinking is too immature.
He needs a lesson.
"Meow~ This is Jonin Naoki. Starting today, he'll be helping me train you all. Now, let's announce today's training plan..."
Raj leaped down, clapped his paws together, and, feigning a Summoning Technique, conjured a Rat Puppet and a Tumbling Doll.
'What are those?'
Kakashi's eyelid twitched.
He sensed this wasn't going to be simple.
'Could it be that after we finally got used to the Rats and prepared for "Rat-catching" training, this Black-Hearted Cat is switching the exercise?!'
A bad feeling settled in his gut.
Obito shared Asuma's suspicion that something was amiss, but they had no choice but to accept the situation as it was.
Rather than speculate about the Black-Hearted Cat's motives, they decided to obediently listen and wait.
"Meow~ Rin, Kurenai, and you two, you'll be catching Mountain Rats. Rin will teach you the process. Kakashi and Obito, you'll be practicing with this."
Raj flashed a rare, benevolent smile.
As the team's most prolific Points contributors, Kakashi and Obito couldn't afford to slack off.
The past few days of rat-catching had been too easy.
With more people present today, it was a good opportunity to give them a change of pace.
'You two... Is it so hard to say our names?!'
Asuma cursed inwardly, his expression remaining impassive.
"What is this?"
"A counterattack tumbler. You can play with it for now... Oh, Senior Naoki, could you please infuse it with Chakra?"
'Couldn't you do that yourself?'
Naoki grumbled inwardly, but Raj was a formidable opponent, so he promptly bowed his head in submission and silently began channeling Chakra.
'A mobile Chakra battery. How pathetic!'
Kakashi couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.
Here was a Special Jonin, reduced to doing such menial tasks.
'If that's the case, what does being a Chunin even matter?'
"Alright, let's begin."
"That's it?"
Asuma was bewildered, struggling to understand what they were supposed to do.
'This is supposed to be special training, but they haven't even explained the exercise.'
Rin waved her hand and continued.
"Our task is simple: catch Mountain Rats across the mountain without using any Chakra and while wearing these weighted gear."
"C-catch... rats?"
Kurenai's face drained of color, her expression instantly turning grim.
Her lips trembled, but she stubbornly refused to say she wouldn't participate, clearly forcing herself to overcome her fear.
"Chakra restriction?"
Tsurugi nodded thoughtfully.
Chakra was a valuable asset; during regular runs or weighted training, they inevitably refined it to enhance their performance.
But without Chakra and burdened by these weights, even climbing the mountain would be a challenge, let alone chasing Mountain Rats.
Recalling Kakashi's earlier warning, Tsurugi glanced at Asuma, sensing that Asuma was about to face a particularly harsh ordeal.
"I... I can do this!"